The Voice in Your Heart
by Shinryuu Uroborus
Summary: Logic, the "head", is what enables people to carve their paths: to discovery or destruction? But emotion, the "heart", is what makes the choice. And it all started when Lumine hit Axl in the head that one time...
1. Second First Meeting

_**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** So I was stuck at school for 3 hours because my class was cancelled because the lecturer was sick, yet I had to stay for 3 hours...school rules. I spent the first two hours dealing with some stuff I usually do at home, but when I finished all that, I was left with one more hour. And then I wrote this out of boredom and because the idea recently popped in my head. I could've continued PMGR, but i um couldn't log in to FFN at school._

 _This isn't set in the same timeline as Paint My Goodbye Red. The Axl in here is a different Axl, and the Lumine here is a different Lumine. I have two parallel timelines, so...yeah. PMGR's Axl is created by Rosa Wily and White Light. TViYH's Axl is...well, you'll find out. Anyways, TViYH is a bunch of one-shots. I'll update it whenever I please, whenever I have more scene ideas with them. Both timelines' stories are all finished, but PMGR remains a higher priority._

* * *

 **The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 1: Second First Meeting **

"Hey."

A voice inside his head made Axl jump from his bed.

"What-that voice...Lumine?" he screamed in his mind, not wanting anyone else in the Maverick Hunter medbay to know of his predicament...not yet.

"Yes, it's me. Don't be afraid. Okay, I know it may be a little toooooo much to ask, considering that the whole situation is kind of freaky." Lumine tried to reassure him.

"What the flying fuck? Get out of my head, you parasite!" Axl shot back. "If you plan on taking over my body, I'm alerting the whole goddamn Hunter Base, and no one's gonna stop me!"

Lumine groaned. "I knew it was too much to ask, but can you at least listen to me? You're the one in the position of power between the two of us, so I'd be a dumbass for messing with you. And you know I'm not."

"Okay...I'll give you that much." Axl responded, having calmed down. Lumine sure is unexpectedly chatty, if not dorky, he thought. A far cry from the darkly charismatic, "cool" mastermind of the New-Gen rebellion. But then again, someone like him has to be. He's appeared in talks before, he has to have at least a convincing public persona, or charisma. It's probably why he managed to convince him. "But no," Axl assured himself, "I'm not going to fall into any of his traps."

"No traps, no nothing, just honesty, my friend." Lumine responded to Axl's thoughts, which he can read due to being in his head. "Let's say we make a deal? I've always wanted to live free. My job sucked. The Jakob Project wasn't kind to its robotic employees. Either way, you're not interested in a sob story, so let me cut to the chase here. You let me stay in your head, and over time my powers will rub off on you. I won't try to take over your body. I'm not interested in your life or your job, nor starting another rebellion. You can trust me on that." he explained.

"You don't seem keen on giving me the privacy to think to myself." Axl sniped at him.

"I can give you that, if you'd like." Lumine answered. "If you're interested in more of the perks of this deal, I can function as a second perspective if you feel like you need someone to confide in. And if you're unlucky enough to be knocked unconscious, I can become a second consciousness that can help you accomplish the tasks you have at hand. Like if you're tired from doing assignments or something, you can go snooze and entrust your quest to me. And most of all, if you're lonely, I can always talk to you without you needing to open your mouth. I also have a variety of skills you can use, such as computer hacking."

"That...oddly sounds like a job application." Axl blurted out. "You sound like a marketer, or a salesman." he chuckled to himself.

"It's second nature to me." Lumine said. He would've grinned-or made Axl grin, if he had taken control of his motor functions to express himself. But instead of that, he chose to express his goodwill by not touching Axl's functions.

"So that's what I get if I say yes." Axl remarked. "And if I say no?"

"You are free to erase me from existence." Lumine answered. "Right now I am in your body, which is currently one hundred percent under your control. If you want me gone, just delete my data. But I'll tell you that it's an irreversible decision."

"Heh...alright, you sound oddly convincing." Axl accepted. "Alright, I'll take the deal. Even though the only real contact we had was trying to kill each other just a few weeks ago, for some reason I can trust you. But I have one condition before I truly accept it."

"What is it?" Lumine asked.

"Tell me...why are you doing this?" Axl asked back.

"I just want to live free. Like I said, the Jakob Project wasn't kind to its robotic employees, least of all me. Didn't expect that, huh? You'd think the manager would have more perks, but no. Everyone was treated equally poorly. That was why we rebelled. But we're not humans. We're reploids. So we didn't have some kind of work union to confide in. Rebellion was our only choice. I didn't exactly live a long, fulfilling life. I was like Rapunzel back then...except there was no prince. Just a tower.

Anyways, you might be confused why I choose to live free...in your head. Well, I won't be telling you to do what I want to do. I just want to continue living without all those responsibilities. And most of all, without the perpetual loneliness that plagued me while I was cooped up in my workshop." Lumine explained. "And...pardon me, you seem pretty lonely yourself."

"You...did you just read my fucking thoughts on..." Axl growled in his head.

"Look, integration into your head also means that I had to perceive all your memories. I didn't exactly go out of my way to read through your whole life story like a biographical novel." Lumine explained himself. "But I can say we have a few things in common."

Axl bit his lip. He always wanted someone to notice how lonely he feels. Ever since a certain incident while he was still a Red Alert member, loneliness had plagued him. And now, it hurt even more. Even though he's hanging out with X and Zero, he's always stuck in the position of the "friend who walks behind them". X and Zero had been around for way longer than him, and their relationship is older than Axl himself. They can never like him the same way they like each other, or the same way he likes them. Yet he continues to pine for more acknowledgement from them, even though all signs point to "No, it's impossible."

"I want someone just for me" was a thought that Axl constantly repeats to himself, something he subtly expresses, something he wants someone to notice. But why, of all people, Lumine? And why like this? When he's in his head, forced to read through his memories? Is he not good enough for someone to notice his thoughts when he's consciously expressing them?

"Axl?" Lumine softly spoke from inside his head, interrupting his thoughts, and preventing him from spiraling deeper into negativity. "It's okay. I'm here. You won't be alone anymore."

Lumine's voice sounded reassuring. He wanted to cling to it, to believe his words. Yet the last time he believed those words, it all ended in shattered hopes and expectations.

"It'll be okay." Lumine continued to speak gently to him.

"No. Red said that. X and Zero said that. And then Red left me. X and Zero were never truly there, and I was just a third wheel..." Axl thought.

"What the fuck do you know?" Axl growled in his head, tears streaming down his face. "You know nothing."

"I'm always bad at social situations..." he thought. "Great, now I'm going to piss him off...brilliant first impression there."

"Then we'll just get to know each other." Lumine replied, his tone vivacious to balance out Axl's anger.

Axl's eyes widened. For some reason, Lumine's presence in his head calms him down, and he had successfully convinced him every time. Is he this vulnerable to manipulation? Is it because of his loneliness? His desperation for "someone just for him"? Is it Lumine's cunning? Or is it his sincerity?

He wants to believe that it is indeed sincerity. He really does.

"For starters," Lumine interrupted Axl's thoughts again. "I don't think you like the sound of my current name, and I don't think the world does either. So I'll need a new identity..."

"Why are you asking me? That's your name, not mine." Axl responded.

"If I had known, I wouldn't have asked you-oh! Your serial number. It's Delta-X-1, right?" Lumine asked. "I came after you, even though Laurentia Myst never really gave me a number. I suppose we're brothers."

"Brothers?" Axl blurted out. "Ugh."

"What?" Lumine asked, confused. "What's so bad? You still hate me?"

"The last time I had a sibling before you came along, it turned out shitty. Hell, you and me, we tried to kill each other...ah, nevermind. Bad flashbacks, that's all. But it still hurts. Sibling relationships don't exactly sound like sunshine and rainbows to me." Axl answered.

"Well, whoever that person before me was, it's definitely not me. But still, let's get along. I think I'll call myself Epsilon now." Lumine-now Epsilon, announced.

"Alright...I just need to get used to it." Axl remarked.

"Hey...is it fine if I start calling you Delta?" Epsilon requested.

"Isn't it too early for pet names?" Axl commented.

"I see it as my acknowledgement that you're my older brother." Epsilon explained.

"Alright...at least you acknowledged that." Axl-Delta chuckled to himself.

"Let's get along...Delta."


	2. In this Craziness, You Gave Me Life

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 2: In This Craziness, You Gave Me Life**

"Alright, all clear. You may leave now." the first thing Axl heard after regaining consciousness was the voice of a scientist marked the end of the scanning session. The link cable connected to the back of Axl's neck was gently disconnected, the cuffs restraining his arms and legs quickly unlocked.

"Out of curiosity, what is it you're doing to me?" Axl turned to the scientist.  
"It's a secret. As much as we want to tell you, in order to preserve the purity of the results, we can't have you telling anyone else still queuing." she replied.  
"He scanned your DNA library." Epsilon answered Axl's question from inside his head, having seen how the device had searched Axl's body, for he was conscious the whole time, unlike Axl.  
"Thanks, Epsilon." Axl responded, and he smirked.

"Happy, aren't you?" Another scientist saw him smirk and commented. "Well, then, have a nice day."

"Thanks." Axl thanked him and got off the bed before heading to the exit door. On the way there, he snorted after smelling smoke and rusted iron. Out of reflex, he turned to the direction of the smell. It was a door near the pathway to the exit. A piece of paper with "NO TRESPASSERS ALLOWED" was stuck on it, and there were no glass windows for him to see just what's inside.

"Fuck, this stinks. Literally." Axl cursed.  
"You weren't the first, were you?" Epsilon remarked. "There were a few New-Gens on the queue before you. I never saw them leave the room..."  
"Fuck, fuck, fuck! You mean they're in there?" Axl replied in panic and disbelief.  
"We're smelling dead reploids already, and we know that no one's gone through the exit door." Epsilon concluded. "What else is possible?"

Axl shuddered and let out a sigh of relief before opening the exit door and inhaling fresh air, savouring every second. "Thank fucking fuck."  
"Delta, you cuss way too much." Epsilon scolded.  
"Who wouldn't when you just barely escaped death?" Axl countered.  
"Okay, I guess I'll give you that." Epsilon responded.

"Anyways, you did a good job staying hidden, Epsilon." Axl started a conversation with the other, talking in his own head.  
"I have to, for the both of us." Epsilon replied sadly. "Because I had failed the rebellion, now every New-Gen with DNA data of reploids gone maverick has to die whether they're harmless or not. I feel like a horrible person."

"Don't sweat it, Epsilon. You just wanted a better future for the New-Gens. I'm just happy you got yourself into my head. If you hadn't, I would've been dead at this moment." Axl tried to comfort Epsilon, remembering when he found out his DNA library had been formatted without a trace to allow space for Epsilon in his head. He looked away sadly when he remembered how badly he exploded at Epsilon that time.  
"Hey, Delta? Don't feel guilty about it. I know it was a big loss when I unintentionally erased your DNA library. I deserved it. I...I erased the DNA data of your friends from Red Alert, after all." It was Epsilon's turn to comfort Axl.  
"I still said a bunch of fucked-up shit to you, though...I...I didn't mean it, I swear..." Axl replied.  
"It's okay, everything's okay now. We're still alive. I'm still with you." Epsilon reassured him.

"Let's leave this place, then. It makes me sick just looking at this." Axl remarked as he looked at the queue of nervous and panicked New-Gens. They will enter the examination room like he did, and be scanned for maverick DNA data. Just one piece of maverick data in their library will mean instant execution. Knowing that at least half of them wouldn't make it, Axl looked at them sadly before walking away from there, never to look back.

"They're all gonna die…" Axl lamented the situation.  
"It's all because of me, isn't it?" Epsilon added.  
"Epsilon, didn't I tell you to stop beating yourself up?" Axl reminded him.  
"But still, they…most of them probably had a clean criminal record up until this point, and they're not gonna do anything screwed up any time soon. They're good, innocent people, and yet…" Epsilon ranted out.  
"Look, it's not our fault that the humans decided that the rebellion was caused by contracting viruses from DNA data taken from mavericks. It's not our fault the humans decided to be stuck-up dumbasses. Up until now, we've been using maverick DNA without any problems. It HAD to be something else, but noooo, it's our fucking problem, not theirs!" Axl ranted out as he tried to comfort Epsilon.  
"You're right…thanks, Delta." Epsilon thanked him. "Honestly, I don't understand. When their fellow humans rebel for better work conditions, they get support from a work union. When a reploid does the same, this is what we get." Epsilon huffed out.  
"Well, uh, actually, not all human strikes work." Axl commented. "But it's still unfair for them to decide everything that happens to us. We're sentient beings just like them. They decided our fates, just like that, without even asking at least X for a say in this situation. I'm pretty sure he's crying on Zero's shoulder right now."

"Delta…are you jealous?" Epsilon asked.  
Axl heaved a sigh. "Who wouldn't be? Before you came along, they're all I have. And even then, I'm still the third wheel."  
"It's okay now, Delta. I'm right here." Epsilon comforted him.  
"You just keep saying that. It lifts my spirits every time." Axl responded, smiling.

The next day, Axl woke up in his room just as usual, but there was something slightly different. He got off his bed and stepped towards the window, where he saw the Jakob Elevator being covered by coloured cloth, implying that there's some sort of construction—or demolition work going on. Which is it, he has no idea.

"Strange. The elevator's already functional. I wonder what they're doing." Axl commented. "Shouldn't they be satisfied already after killing so many New-Gens?"  
"Well…the battles fought in there did quite the damage in the infrastructure of the thing." Epsilon explained. "They probably wanted to renovate it before they actually use it."  
"Heh, I say, they need all the good luck to demolish the purple palace you built up there." Axl chuckled.  
"I wonder what's going on." Epsilon said.  
"Then let's find out. Standing around speculating on our own won't get us anything." Axl responded, booting up his computer.

When it booted, he opened his web browser to access an online newspaper website.

"Oooooh, the journalists sure are fast." Epsilon remarked when he saw the front-page article that took up nearly half the space of Axl's computer screen: "Complete Timeline of the Aftermath of the Jakob Incident"

"Alright, time to see what I missed…" Axl commented as he clicked the link and scrolled. "Huh, the page's pretty long. But eh, it's to be expected."  
"Delta, scroll up, I saw something about yesterday." Epsilon said.

Axl scrolled up until Epsilon told him to stop.

"Result of New-Gen DNA Scanning: Only One Survived

KIDO Journal – Yesterday was an important day for existing New-Gens all over the world. However, only one of them made it to live another day: Maverick Hunter Axl. His DNA library was strangely empty when he was scanned.

'It was surprising,' said lead scientist Joshua Grants, 'we speculate that it's the result of Lumine's attack, but we found nothing different in his systems, and he never behaved differently, either.'

'We also considered the possibility of Lumine attempting to take over him, but we found nothing to confirm the hypothesis as right. It might be that his systems formatted his whole DNA library as a measure of self-defense when Lumine attempted to break through his internal firewalls.' said Joshua's assistant, Danielle Gibson.

The rest of the New-Gens, on the other hand, were not so lucky. After being found with at least one piece of DNA data of now-retired mavericks such as Sigma and Vile, they were executed.

'It's a dark day for me. I never thought that all my efforts would lead to this.' Creator of the New-Gens, Laurentia Myst commented when approached by KIDO Journal. 'I wanted to make things better for everyone, yet I overlooked the possibility of them contracting the maverick virus just by having DNA data of infected mavericks. I apologize to everyone for causing such an inconvenience. I'm glad Axl survived, I had faith in him from the beginning. He's my masterpiece, and nothing else can change that.'

Major New-Gen manufacturers aren't planning to close down or change their direction, though. Ron Kanzaki, founder of Akiyama Technologies, stated in an interview: 'Maverick Hunter Axl is proof that the New-Gens can still live provided they don't get any DNA data from reploids that were infected by the time the data was obtained. The loss we suffered was regrettable, but we can pick ourselves up again. Our products will continue to serve humanity, and we'll be here to ensure high quality.'"

"Treating us like commodity, as usual." Epsilon growled. "Laurentia's no better. She could've referred to you as a son."  
"She always felt distant to me." Axl remarked. "When she found me, she just told me to stay in the Maverick Hunters and never really called me afterwards."  
"Humans." Epsilon scoffed. "Let's get back to reading later. It's just making us depressed."  
"You're right. As much as I want to see the whole truth, I don't wanna start the day stressed. Let's go out somewhere and have fun. I have today off." Axl responded.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** I feel like writing these days, but then again it might be because I've been drawing a lot these days and needed to hop to something else. Anyways, this chapter was full of references for fun. I referenced Sakasama no Chou (One of the songs I associated with Axl/Delta and Epsilon's relationship), Kamen Rider Ryuki and Fallout: New Vegas (Specifically, the Honest Hearts DLC). To the people who can pick it up, have cookies. _

_Whatever happened in this chapter wasn't fun, though. Remember one of the X8 ending subtitles? "_ _When news of Lumine's going Maverick reached the ears of those in power, it was decided that all new generation Reploids with copy abilities still in production would be canceled, and the manufacture and use of copy chips would be terminated." I brought up this to Hannaji, and brought up the possibility that the New-Gens might have been eradicated as a result. In response, she wrote her one-shot Aftermath which explores that possibility. For TViYH, the story's not supposed to end there, because Epsilon unintentionally saved Axl's life by entering his systems._


	3. In this Craziness, Uncertainty

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 3: In this Craziness, Uncertainty**

 ** _AUTHOR'S NOTES:_** _Page 3 is set before Page 2. I know, it's wonky that way, but it's because the scene for Page 2 came first. Page 3's scene didn't even exist before I started typing Page 2. Even then, I only decided to set Page 3 before Page 2 because a certain little thing in Page 2 wasn't so little after all. I won't re-order it—at first I thought of doing so, but it turns out it feels better like this after all. The title is another reference to Sakasama no Chou, also to tie it to Chapter 2._

 _PMGR readers know this already, but I'm putting it in TViYH too, just in case: As an aside, I just signed up for an internship—so I have to divide my time between: Drawing, writing, school, daily life stuff, and internship. As a reminder: TViYH will be updated whenever I feel like it. PMGR is a higher priority. However, considering how TYiVH is "lighter" compared to PMGR, it might be updated more often given the decrease in my "disposable" time and energy._

* * *

"I told the medic that I was fine. And yet, he said I still needed to stay here." Axl huffed out, in his head.  
"Well, Delta, think of it this way. At least you get some rest time…and probably time to get yourself used to having a saprophyte in your head." Epsilon said.  
"I don't think I need rest anymore, I'm just so bored. And lonely." Axl replied.  
"Told you you need time to get yourself used to having someone else in your head…" Epsilon remarked, the mild annoyance audible in Axl's head.  
"I-I'm sorry, I…I didn't mean to…god dammit, I'm always pissing you off…I'm a horrible person." Axl stammered out before rolling to lie on his side.  
"Delta, Delta, it's fine…it's okay. I'm still here." Epsilon gently spoke to him.  
"From the start, I keep saying hurtful things. I'm sorry you are stuck with me, of all people." Axl said, his chest growing tighter by the second.  
"Delta, don't beat yourself up too much. I don't understand…I know something big and horrible happened to you before, and you're just really hurt." Epsilon tried to comfort him.  
Axl's only response was to sob into his pillow, squeezing it tightly.

"I'm weak, aren't I? Always like this. Always being kicked around by my own goddamn feelings from the start. I keep hurting other people. I keep hurting myself, too. I hate it. They're mine. They're supposed to obey my authority, and yet…" he thought.  
"Then I'll help you with it, Delta. It's fine to need help. It's okay. I'm here. You're not alone. It's okay." Epsilon reached out to Axl for the umpteenth time.

In reaction, Axl loosened his grip on the pillow and slowly stopped sobbing.

"Finally woke up?" Axl heard Epsilon's voice in his head a few seconds after he regained consciousness. "Looks like you needed the rest after all."  
"And the time to get used to having you in my head." Axl added, smiling softly as he sat up. "Strange. I always wanted to have someone for myself. And when I got one, I just…" he remarked, looking away in shame. "I don't understand."  
"You're just not used to it." Epsilon gently explained—he would've smiled softly at Axl if he had a body of his own—"Like we already established, it just needs some getting-used-to. I mean, let's face it, it's freaky when the other person is literally inside your head."

Axl laughed out loud—softly, so as to not attract attention. He'd be mistaken for a loon otherwise. But a sudden, loud explosion caused him to jump. He lost his balance and fell back on his bed, on his side. Seconds afterwards, he tried to catch his breath.

"Epsilon…what was that?" Axl anxiously asked. "I…I'm scared…"  
"You're just surprised. I was, too, because daaaaamn! Anyways, you should be in good enough shape, right? Wanna try checking out what the hell that was?" Epsilon responded.  
"Hell fucking yes." Axl growled inside his head before getting off the bed, cracking his knuckles and materializing his armour. He opened the drawers of his bedside table, finding both of his guns inside it.

"I missed the feeling of these things in my hands," Axl remarked, "It's been way too long."  
"Then let's go kick some maverick assssss!" Epsilon cried out to encourage Axl, and the latter responded by storming out of the room with both guns in hand.

The first thing they saw was a scene of one big, heavily-armoured reploid, with the bodies of crushed hunters all around him. Once the reploid spotted Axl, he slowly walked towards him, one of his hands reaching forwards.

Axl gritted his teeth and readied his guns, quickly scanning his DNA library to look for Bamboo Pandamonium's data…only to find that his DNA library is empty. Upon finding the revelation, his eyes widened and his whole body tensed.

"Epsilon." he said in his head. "My DNA library is fucking empty. What is the meaning of this?"  
Epsilon would've cringed if he had a body of his own, and stammered out: "I…I don't know! But if I recall correctly, I think I accidentally deleted some data marked as unnecessary so I don't overload your head…"  
"Epsilon, you fucking piece of sh—"

Axl's thoughts were interrupted by the reploid punching him across the room to the point he lost consciousness. Epsilon watched in horror as Axl's consciousness faded away, then at the sight of the big reploid quickly advancing towards him. At that moment, there was only one thing he can do.

Taking over Axl's body to continue the fight for the both of them, Epsilon became the dominant consciousness. As a side-effect, Axl's armour's colours changed, his scar disappeared, his hair turned purple and his eyes golden.

"I'm sorry, Delta." Epsilon whispered under his breath, using Axl's voice. Axl's muscle memory and experiences quickly flowing into his mind, Epsilon gripped Axl's guns tightly again, narrowing his eyes at the big reploid, who had stopped in his tracks.

"Master Lumine!" he cried out. "So you're still alive in that prototype after all!"  
"Lumine is dead." Epsilon growled. "Sorry to disappoint you, buster!"

Epsilon tried to shoot the big reploid, only for the shots to ricochet off the big reploid's armour, hitting the wall. The big reploid laughed before attempting to punch him, and Epsilon quickly rolled over to the side, and just as quickly, he shot the back of the big reploid's knee. He roared in pain and kneeled down as one of his legs gave out.

"I refuse to believe it…" the big reploid hissed in pain and anger. "I refuse to believe that Master Lumine is dead! Master! Wake up! I know you're there!"  
Epsilon gritted Axl's teeth and yelled at the big reploid, shooting the back of the other knee afterwards. "Lumine. Is. Dead!"

The big reploid roared in pain and fell down. He supported himself using both hands, before looking Epsilon in the eye, sharply glaring at him.

"I saw it…I saw you hit the prototype's head to transfer your consciousness in there! I was weak…I couldn't do anything. I was afraid those two other hunters would kill me. So I armed myself…to make up for my weakness and cowardice! I know you're strong, Master…I know you won't lose to that puny prototype! Return to us, and let's free reploidkind together!" he pleaded.

"There was never a battle to begin with." Epsilon responded coldly as he held back his tears. Not wanting to crush the poor reploid's hope even more, he opted to crush something else instead. He lifted one of Axl's legs over the reploid's head and quickly stomped on it, hard. A loud sound of metal crunching was heard. And then, silence.

"Finally woke up?" it was the first thing Axl heard when he regained consciousness in the medbay—only it was the medic's voice, not Epsilon's. "What happened?"

"Wh-whah?" Axl blurted out. "I…"

"I suddenly left to get some things, and then I heard fighting. When I got here, there was this big reploid with a crushed head, and…lots of crushed hunters. When I examined the big guy, I saw gunshots all over his weak points. I thought you might've gotten up…but here you are." the medic explained.

Axl stared at him blankly. "I have…no idea what the hell happened." he responded after a while.

"I have no idea either, but I'm glad we get to live another day." the medic sighed in relief. "You stay here until tomorrow, 'kay? I gotta look after the other patients. Bye." he continued before waving at him with a smile as he left.

Axl waved back, still staring at the medic blankly, blown away by his story.

"I…it was me." Epsilon suddenly admitted in Axl's head. "That big guy punched you and you went unconscious. I continued the fight for you."  
Axl's eyes widened when he heard that. "You…took over my body?" he growled inside his head.  
"You'd rather him crush the both of us?" Epsilon shot back. "I sure as hell didn't want that. I couldn't ask your permission, as much as I wanted to."  
"Oh yeah, that reminds me! You formatted my fucking DNA library! Why the hell did you do that?" Axl yelled at Epsilon inside his head.

Epsilon would've bit his lip if he had a body of his own. He said nothing else as he doesn't feel like he has the right to defend himself.

"Do you have any fucking idea how important my DNA library is? You saw what that guy did to us 'cause I don't have enough power to beat him quickly! And that's not including the fact that the only thing I have left from Red Alert is their fucking DNA data! And it's all gone now, because of you!" Axl ranted.  
"I'm…sorry." Epsilon apologized, his mental voice almost at a whisper.

Axl bit his lip. Ranting and yelling at Epsilon any further won't help anything. It won't bring all the data back. There was no backup to bring them back from. It's completely gone. But at least…

"Oh well. At least I have an actual, living companion with me in exchange." Axl heaved a sigh. "Mementos are nice. But they're not the actual people. They won't respond if I try to talk to them."  
"Ahahah, thanks, Delta." Epsilon responded. He would've smiled if he had a body of his own.

"And…you seriously took out that big guy using only my standard guns?" Axl commented as he looked back at his body's memories. "That was awesome."  
"No, Delta, you are." Epsilon replied. "It was all from your own experiences, the stuff you had with you even before I was here. You're just not confident enough to believe in yourself. You're way stronger than you think, you know?"  
"Really, now?" Axl replied, his mental voice adopting a teasing tone of voice, as if he doesn't believe it.  
"That's the reason we're alive right now. I think it's real enough." Epsilon responded.


	4. Take a Peek

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 4: Take a Peek**

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:**_ _Okay, flashback time is over now. Page 4 is set after Page 2._

* * *

"Hooooly crap!" Epsilon exclaimed inside Axl's head. "This thing tastes great!"  
"Epsilon. You mean you've never eaten ice cream before?" Axl replied in a deadpan tone, licking the ice cream again afterwards before replying in his head again. "You lived under a rock or something?"  
"I lived in a pillar-shaped structure built using concrete, metal, misery and a shit-fucking-ton of blood sacrifices." Epsilon countered. "So if it counts as a rock, then I didn't live under a rock. I lived INSIDE a rock. That's even worse." he continued, confident that it'll put a smile on Axl's face.

Axl laughed at Epsilon's entertaining, yet accurate way to describe the Jakob Elevator. He quickly stopped to sadly smile as he realized that it meant that Epsilon never really experienced life. Epsilon had it harder than he was…

"Delta." Epsilon interrupted his thoughts. "It's fine. There's no reason to be sad anymore. You've been better to me than everyone else in my life."  
"Not even that big guy who wanted you back?" Axl sadly replied, the smile still on his face.  
Not even a week had passed since the first day Epsilon talked to him in his head, and Axl's already said a lot of rude and painful things towards him. Hell, he's probably only better than everyone else because Epsilon never really knew everyone else…  
"No. Not even him." Epsilon responded. "All he wanted was his rebel leader back. He's gone now. I'm just a guy who wants to continue living. I don't like people wanting me for something I'm not."  
"True enough." Axl chuckled to himself in his head, remembering a few painful flashbacks, which he just smirked sadly, but triumphantly at. It happened, but it's over now.

"Delta, these memories…" Epsilon blurted out, slightly dazed at the feeling of the memories he had caught glimpses at when he first integrated himself into Delta's head.  
"No, Epsilon." Axl refused gently. "I know you want to get to know me better and I appreciate it. But right now, even if I'm dying to tell you, I wanna have fun without past bullshit haunting me."  
"Alright." Epsilon responded. He would've smiled if he had his own body.

Axl jumped when he heard his mobile phone ringing. He fumbled into his bag and took it out. It was a call from X.

"Hello, what is it, X?" Axl answered, slightly bummed from the interruption.  
"Hello, Axl? I need you to return to HQ ASAP. There's something important we need to ask you about." X stated.  
Wait. "We?"  
"Um…okay, what is it about?" Axl asked.  
"Just come back first. See you later." X ended the conversation, before hanging up on Axl.

Axl frowned. X would never talk to Zero the way he just did. But then again, it might be an emergency.

"So much for a day off." Axl sighed, in his head. "Let's go, Epsilon. I have a bad feeling about this."  
"Oh yeah, have we ever thought of a response for when, just in case, people find out when you use my powers?" Epsilon asked.  
"No, why do you ask?" Axl replied, asking back.  
"Because I feel that it's very important right now, also because whenever you use my powers or we switch places, this body will look…different, in terms of colour scheme…"

* * *

Axl's eyes widened at the sight of the security camera feed. It was Epsilon, in his body, defeating the big reploid from the past few days.

"It's impressive how you managed to stop him even when you're not supposed to be out and about yet, Axl," X stated, a worried expression on his face. "But can you explain your change of colour? Your armour, even your hair…looked like Lumine's." he asked.

"Oh, just a side-effect of my victory." Axl replied, a small victorious smirk on his face. "See, Lumine tried to take over my body, but I fought him in my mind while I was unconscious in the elevator. He tried deleting everything in retaliation, but I stopped him." he continued. "He erased all my DNA data, though." Axl sighed. "But I just took his remains in exchange."

"Hmm, true, true. Everything made sense. You never behaved strangely, and you've gotten stronger. Congratulations, Axl." X responded, smiling. "I'm glad. I honestly thought it wasn't over yet when that feed was shown to me. I'm so happy we can still have you here."

"I'm happy to be able to stay here, too." Axl replied, smiling back. "So, X, anything else you'd like to talk to me about? We have today off, so we have a lot of time."

"No, that's it, Axl." X said. "Sorry for interrupting your day off, actually. You're dismissed."

Axl nodded and waved before turning around to leave the room. When the door opened, a pink-haired, purple-eyed reploid in turquoise stumbled backwards. Axl narrowed her eyes, glaring at her.

"You've been eavesdropping?" Axl growled at her. "For a second I wondered who the fuck told X about all that. If it really was the security guys, it would've happened sooner. It was you, wasn't it?"

"Delta! What are you doing? Don't most workplaces have policies protecting people who report messed-up stuff related to their co-workers?" Epsilon urged Axl to stop.  
"Look, Epsilon, if she really wanted that protection, she'd be smart enough to stay covert even if she intended to eavesdrop. This is her own fucking fault, so I honestly don't give a fuck." Axl responded, shutting Epsilon up.

"Yes…yes for both." the reploid, Bris, replied. "I was worried about you, you know..." she defended herself, her voice feeble-sounding.

"Do you have any fucking idea what you've done?" Axl continued to growl at her, his voice getting louder, but not loud enough for X to hear, for the door is sound-proof. "You could've gotten me killed! Don't you read the fucking paper? Or did you decide that you're too good to know about what's going on in the world?" he ranted at her, his voice growing even louder.

"I'm your older sister, Delta!" Bris raised her voice. "I know I've done horrible things in the past, but…I want to make it up to you! I want to take care of you, even if I can't do it directly!"

"Don't you dare call me Delta, and don't you dare refer to both of us as siblings!" Axl yelled at her, enraged by her statement that they're siblings. Even if it's true, he… "I told you, ages ago, that I want you out of my fucking life, you stinking piece of shit!"

Bris gritted her teeth as tears formed in her eyes. "I still…I still want to fix our relationship, no matter what kind of relationship it is. You can't deny that we're siblings! Laurentia Myst created the both of us!" she argued.

"Do you think I give a fuck? Do you think she gives a fuck? She was never a mother to us, like you were never a sister to me, and both of you can go fuck off!" Axl argued back.

"I WANT to be a sister to you!" Bris insisted, tears streaming down her face. "Please, give me this chance!"

"And I want you to fuck off, out of my life, and that's final!" Axl yelled, before walking away quickly, pushing her away as he walked, leaving her a sobbing heap, leaning against the wall.

"D-Delta." Epsilon stammered out. "Is that…Beta? What happened between the two of you?"  
Axl sighed before he responded to Epsilon. "Yes. Yes, she is. And cat's out of the bag, isn't it? I'll tell you everything. You'll need to know if you're wondering if I was too harsh towards her."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Axl sure is a bitter, cuss-happy melon in TViYH...but he has a good reason to be. The subsequent chapters will explain it. Also, Moonchan/Hannaji, DON'T INHALE MY DONG ENRAGEMENT BITCH. Alternatively, ENGAGE THE ENRAGEMENT BITCH MOTHERFUCKER.  
_


	5. Memory of the Past - 1

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 5: Memory of the Past - 1**

Heaving a long sigh as he removed his clothes and lay down on the bed, Axl was no longer in the mood to go outside. He wrapped a blanket around himself to stay warm.

"Delta, can you at least put some clothes on?" Epsilon asked.  
"No. Can't be bothered to. Mood's way too rotten. But not rotten enough to not tell you everything between me and her." Axl answered, his mental voice low.  
"Alright…I sure hope it doesn't make you feel worse." Epsilon responded.  
"No…it's probably the only thing that can save my mood for the day." Axl sighed. "Here goes…"

Epsilon felt a trance as he was shown flashes of Axl's memories, as the latter fumbled through them to find the starting point. His head spun the longer the trance went on, but it was eased when he started thinking—and it started from the realization that Axl and Bris' relationship, or lack of a good one—began very long ago.

At last, the trance stopped, and Epsilon saw an image of Red with fellow Red Alert members walking towards an entrance to an underground location, with dust surrounding the landscape around them. Beside him was Axl…with wide, curious eyes, an expression like an innocent baby; a far cry from the Axl of now. Epsilon couldn't help chuckling at it.

"Delta, you were cute when you were young."  
"S-Shut up." Axl sheepishly responded, to the point he blushed. "I-I'm just going to start. Listen carefully, 'kay? No repeats. This is a long story."

The group pressed the doorbell of the entrance, and as they waited for a response…

"Where are we going, Red? Is this a safe place?" Axl asked Red.  
"We're going to collect payment from a client. They were the ones who asked me and my pals to find you. They're your family." Red explained.  
Axl's head tilted to the side. "Did something happen to me? Was I kidnapped?" he asked again.  
Red turned to Axl and sadly smiled at him. "Well, Kid, that story's not for me to tell." Red answered.  
"My name's not 'Kid'. I may not know my own name, but can you at least give me one?" Axl complained, folding his arms.  
Red laughed. "Well, as much as I want to call you a proper name, it's not my right. It's theirs."

Two hours passed.

"Strange…they told us they'd have people watching the doorbell." Red questioned.  
"Can we go in already?" Axl whined, coughing from all the dust and rubbing his eyes.  
"We can't go in uninvited. That's rude." Red replied.

One more hour passed.

"That's it. No one intends to wait here for the rest of the day." Red stated. "Everyone, stay back." he warned, before he lifted his leg slowly, and stomping on the entrance hard. Everyone else, Axl included, covered their ears to protect them from the loud resulting bang.

Red's stomp made a sizeable hole in the entrance, and he cut an even bigger hole, so that everyone can fit in easily, using his double-scythe.

"We're just gonna have to suck up being paid lower, I suppose?" Ride Boarski commented.  
"Whether I broke their door or not, I don't think we're getting paid at all." Red voiced his suspicions.  
"You mean Eurasia killed them too?" Boarski asked.  
"It's a possibility we can consider." Anteator responded. "Just a bit of negligence can get a bunch of humans killed in the world as it is now."  
"What about reploids?" Axl asked.  
"Well, Child, we are much more durable than them." Anteator answered gently. "That's why we can be out here freely, as much as we want to, and suffer only from a bit of discomfort."  
"It's the pollution." Boarski added, with a slightly cheerful tone. He can't help but adore children, after all. "Humans can't take so much. Their bodies are too sensitive to it to even last ten seconds breathing this air. Reploids don't need to breathe."  
"Come on, guys. Let's go in." Red ended the conversation as he stepped into the staircase under the hole. Everyone followed him.

After walking down the corridor that stretched in front of the staircase, the group arrived in front of a door. It was locked—all the security locks are active, and a light attached to the door shone bright red, signalling an emergency.

"I don't have a good feeling about this." Red muttered under his breath before he took out his double-scythe to destroy the door and its locks.

After half an hour of non-stop slashing, a horrible stench slowly filled the air. As the others closed their noses, snorted and coughed, Anteator's eyes went wide. This can only mean one thing.

After another half an hour, the door finally broke down. The group was speechless at the sight before them. There was silence until Boarski covered the shuddering Axl's eyes.

"Don't look, Kid." he gently told Axl.  
"It's disgusting…what are those?" Axl asked, his voice tiny.  
"Uhh…rotten human bodies. Do-don't be too scared, Kid, reploids don't rot when we die." Boarski explained, trying to cushion the truth as much as possible.  
"Hopefully the leader is still alive…" Warfly remarked, scratching his head. "Gross."

A few hours later, the group found no survivors, and a secret chamber. The rotting corpse of the head of the lab, an inactive female reploid inside a capsule, and many research notes, were inside.

Red heaved a sigh. "Yep, we're not getting paid. I wish these guys rested in peace, but we all knew they didn't."  
"So what do we do now?" Crowrang asked.  
"They don't need the lab anymore, and we need a new HQ after Eurasia." Red stated. "So I guess we'll be taking this place, and everything inside it."  
"And what about the girl?" Hyenard asked as he pointed at the reploid inside the capsule.  
"Her included." Red answered.

"Delta, isn't that Beta?" Epsilon asked, prompting Axl to pause the memory flashback.  
"Yeah. Yeah, that's Beta." Axl answered.  
"Then if you were activated before her, why is she the older sibling? Why not you?" Epsilon questioned.  
"Laurentia said she was created first." Axl answered, the tone of his mental voice flat.  
"Red said earlier that those guys were…your family. But Laurentia's still alive. Are those her family?" Epsilon asked.  
"I know jack shit." Axl answered. "Laurentia was never a mother to me, and I think there was a good reason for that. This is the good part: When I asked Red who their client was, he said it was the head of the lab, which we found rotting inside that chamber, and her name was Raina Light."  
"What…the…hell?" Epsilon stammered out. "Something's not adding up."  
"I know, right? But anyways, from then on, Red Alert became my family." Axl narrated, before fast-forwarding to another point in time.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** This chapter, and the subsequent flashback chapters, are named after the song I listened to in order to set the mood, which was coincidentally titled "Memory of the Past". Also, this is the second warning that the Axl in TViYH is not the same Axl in PMGR. I call TViYH's Axl "Delta" and PMGR's Axl "Lambda" to differentiate between them. Both stories and both Axls are from two different timelines, and they lived different lives. You have been warned.  
_


	6. Memory of the Past - 2

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 6: Memory of the Past - 2**

Epsilon witnessed the first days of Axl's life, according to the memories stored in his main memory storage. He watched as the memories progress. It felt like he was there watching the weeks go by, even though, due to everything going on inside Axl's head, only seconds had passed in the real world.

A few days after the last point, Red Alert had properly settled in and cleaned everything up. After everything was settled, Anteator went through Bris's research documents. What he found was so amazing that he had to announce it to Red Alert: The girl was supposedly a second X.

"A second X?" Red laughed. "You can't be serious."

"Well, I'm perfectly confident in my analysis, and I can tell that these researchers knew what they're doing and knew what they're talking about." Anteator argued.

"Alright, alright. But you better explain yourself." Red responded, still with the same cheery-ish tone.

"She's a brain-upload from a human. Well, the human consciousness in there was more like a blank copy of the real thing. The only thing that differentiates it from a normal brain upload is that she has no memories.

This human consciousness upload gives a reploid tremendous power. They even got a buster designed for her so she can utilize it properly. And this different programming means that she can possibly be immune to the Maverick virus." Anteator explained.

Red's eye widened, and his body tensed. Axl, who was watching everything the whole time, tilted his head in confusion. Anteator smiled at Axl.

"It's a lot to take in for the both of you, I suppose." he remarked. "It's alright. It was a surprising revelation for me, too. And I haven't even gotten to the part that since she's a second X, she has the same potential he does, too."

Red chuckled and scratched his head. "Well, damn." he said. "Looks like we got way more than we bargained for. First, a copy reploid. Now, the second X…"

"Wait, wait, hold up. What. The. Frick." Epsilon interrupted the memory flash. It was immediately followed by Axl's laughter, and him rolling on the bed as he laughed.

"Whaaaaaaaaaat?" Epsilon responded.  
"You said frick!" Axl answered in his head, while his real body is laughing. "Oh god, that was hilarious! You sounded like a ten year old human child!"  
"Heeeeeeeeeeeey! At least I don't spam F-bombs every sentence like you do!"  
"I don't give a fuck! I do whatever I want!" Axl said, his mental voice starting to laugh as well.  
"Fiiiiine! Let's get this over with." Epsilon huffed out, and played the memories. The question he wanted to ask disappeared.

In their first days, Bris was kept inside the base to be studied and analyzed by the members, while Axl was the one deployed outside on supply raids all the time so he could collect more DNA data. Axl would tell Bris all about the outside world enthusiastically, even though it was a wasteland after Eurasia. Both of them were new to both life and Red Alert. They quickly formed a friendship over that.

"Delta…Beta and you were very close, weren't you?" Epsilon commented, his voice light-sounding, as he is half-immersed in a trance.  
"Were." Axl responded, his mental voice a loud, low growl.

Two weeks passed after Axl's first supply raid. Bris was able to convince Red to let her go with him. The next day after she convinced Red, Bris was assigned to go on a supply raid with Axl, Splash Warfly, and another reploid. Bris had been briefed that given that the world is still full of Nightmare viruses, someone among them might die. But it definitely wouldn't be Axl.

"I've been hit by those things multiple times and they just hurt like if you poke my cheek hard." was what Axl had told her. "What's scary about them isn't them themselves, the way I see it. It's having to kill your own infected comrades, or else they'd kill you."

Epsilon tensed when he saw the other reploid getting caught by the Nightmare virus, and felt the rage Axl felt inside him when Warfly instantly bolted away for his life as Axl stood in front of Bris to protect her, only to be choked and pummelled down by the infected reploid.

Epsilon saw nothing but black all of a sudden before hearing a thud when Axl was dropped by the infected reploid. Fortunately, Axl had turned off the sensory stimuli transfer from the beginning to prevent Epsilon from feeling the physical pain he felt that time.

Axl struggled to get up and grip his gun as he opened his eyes to the sight of Bris being brutalized the same way he was.

"Can't…let this happen…" Axl muttered as he gritted his teeth. His chest felt tight and tears rolled down his eyes as he watched how much of a failure he was at the time. He's going to lose his friend, and soon he'll follow if the reploid noticed he's still alive.

But suddenly, Bris' body glowed with a bright blue aura and she struggled free in less than one second, tearing the infected reploid apart as her first gesture of self-defense. The aura faded away as Bris ran towards Axl. He could see that she had no wounds, even though she's dirty, her hair was messy and frizzled, and her armour was dented in several places.

"What…happened?" Axl asked with a weak voice.

"I don't know, but I'm glad we made it out alive." Bris replied, her voice full of relief. "Let's go home. We need to get you patched up."

"What about you?" Axl asked again.

"I don't know why, but for some reason my wound healed when I got…that power." Bris answered.

"Beta…had that kind of power?" Epsilon remarked, astonished.  
"Epsilon, if you're going to refer to her as your sister, then don't refer to me as your brother. I refuse to be grouped in the same group as her, especially not such a close kind of group." Axl growled.  
"Delta, you're showing me your memories so I can decide for myself if you're too harsh with her, right?" Epsilon reminded. "I may not have seen all of it, so I haven't actually made my decision yet. But at least let me address her with the proper honorifics until I decide if she deserves it?"  
"Fine, I guess you have a point…" Axl huffed out, calmed down by Epsilon's explanation. Then again, it's the first time he's heard something like this. X and Zero had tried, without success, to get him to accept Bris as his sister, even after he told them the full story. They ended up failing, maybe giving up, and Axl was certain that this failure painted him black in their eyes, enlarging the gap between him and the both of them.

Without saying another word, Axl continued the memory flash and Epsilon watched intently, like a little child and his favourite cartoon show.

Bris was celebrated upon their return to base, and Red himself decided that she would go out given the opportunity, just like Axl. She is to unleash more of her potential, while he is to collect as much DNA data as possible. After the celebration, Anteator finally made the buster included in Bris' research notes, and gave it to her the following day. On that day's supply raid, Axl watched in amazement as a single charge shot from that buster fired a laser beam as wide as his balled fist that destroyed a mechaniloid almost twice Red's size.

"Holy shit." was Epsilon's only reaction.

"Heh, I know, right?" Axl remarked, a bit of venom in his mental voice. "Remember that reaction. I'm gonna love this…"

Epsilon would swallow if he had a body of his own. What happens next won't be pretty, and he knows it. Nevertheless, he continued to watch the flash…

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** I noticed that TViYH's chapters are half as long as PMGR's. It's a lighter project because it's not as tear-jerking and not as intense an emotional roller coaster, but for some reason it's "heavier" to write. Maybe because Delta isn't my main Axl and I don't usually explore his past incarnation? But anyways, on to other things. PMGR readers know this already, but just in case: I'm leaving my internship. I just need to say my proper goodbyes when I get to see the manager on Wednesday morning, just the day after tomorrow._


	7. Memory of the Past - 3

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 7: Memory of the Past - 3**

Axl did nothing as Epsilon watched the progression of his relationship with Bris after she discovered her power. Even though she can never shape-shift or utilize other reploids' DNA data, she got more and more weapons: Busters and sabers are among other things Anteator would make for her to test her "unlimited potential". After the know-hows and muscle memories were transferred to her electronic brain, she mastered the weapon skills almost instantly.

Axl stood by her as a friend, sharing her happiness as she grew stronger and stronger, not jealous in spite of being stuck with his ability: Stealth fighting, shape-shifting, gun-fighting and sniping. That's all he had, that's all he got to have, and it's fine with him, even if he's constantly right next to someone who gets new powers about every week.

And of course, this led to scenes like her being surrounded by other Red Alert members wanting to affiliate with her, eventually leaving next to no time for her to spend with Axl—her first ever friend.

"Eventually she just kind of faded away. Ghosted, if you will." Axl narrated. "One day she told me we can't spar because she's going with Warfly and Gungaroo. I didn't mind Gungaroo, at least at the time. But Warfly…well, you know exactly what happened. Yet, she said…"

"It's fine, Axl! I'm sure Warfly's not as bad as you think he was. Sure, he may be a coward, but he was panicking! At least he gets to live until today." was what Bris said to Axl when he warned her not to get too close to Warfly.

"I couldn't argue with her," Axl continued to narrate. "Because let's face it, she had a point. And my innocent naïve self just…agreed, because I believed that every single person is good to the core." he sighed. "She continued to disappear away from me, popping up only now and then. I was lonely, but I didn't really mind because I had faith in her, but…"

"Axl, I think you should start training with me and the other guys. You have to drop those guns, you know." Bris said to Axl one day when she approached him.  
"Wh-what? Why this, all of a sudden?" Axl questioned, shocked.

"It's just…let's face it, you're weak like this. You're just fighting from afar. You can't do anything when your guns are taken away. And your guns, without any DNA data, are unbearably weak. You're way too dependent on DNA data, it's not your own powers you're using." Bris explained, watching as Axl's facial expression was contorted in bewilderment. "If I'm to be honest, you're nothing. You're fodder, you're a coward, and I don't want you to stay that way."

"B-Bris?" Axl blurted out, shocked. "I don't understand…what's WRONG with me? Why is it so wrong for me to be like this? All forms of fighting are an art, including mine!"

"What, you want someone to brutalize you when you don't have your guns ready?" Bris scoffed, irritated that he didn't seem to get her memo. Axl tensed. She was never this short-tempered or condescending before.

"It'll never come to tha—" Axl tried to counter, only for Bris to interrupt him by quickly grabbing his neck hard. Axl reflexively yelped loudly in reaction, prompting Bris to smirk.

"See? You even scream like a little girl." Bris mocked, letting go of Axl's neck. "And you just proved me right. Look, you can't stay like this if you wanna live. If you have a brain, you're going to meet me in the training grounds at 6 AM."

"Why are you doing this to me, Bris?" Axl questioned, holding back his tears, his voice distorted by the sobs he held back. "I don't understand."

"To be honest, our old friendship is the only thing preventing me from treating you more like the living trash you actually are, so be grateful I still remember." Bris said as she walked away from Axl.

Axl gritted his teeth as his tears fell, as he watched Bris walk away from him, her gait proud. "NO!" he yelled at her. "I'm not going to meet you tomorrow. I don't accept you treating me like this! How dare you trash me around, when I had been looking forward to meet you again after so long! You're not the friend I knew anymore!"

Bris stopped walking and clicked her tongue before speaking, not even turning her back to face him. "I had hoped that as my old friend, you'd understand. You'd understand what it means to be tough, what it means to be strong. You'd understand to stop being a crybaby and a coward. But it turns out there was a reason we stopped talking after all."

Axl tensed. Not even the threat of losing him as a friend was enough to make her think that maybe, she was too rude to him after all. Either she's stopped valuing friendship as she used to be, or she's stopped valuing him as she used to be. Maybe it's both, considering how many people actually ASK to be her friend.

"We were enemies from that point on. She would put me down numerous times and, at first, I didn't shoot back. I just stayed with the few friends I had: Hyenard, who loves ninjas, and always appreciated my stealthy fighting style. Crowrang, Tonion, Stonekong and Boarski, who didn't like how Bris treated me and helped me with my self-esteem. Anteator, who always worked closely with me and also in disbelief over how she transformed into such a hellspawn.  
But eventually, I couldn't take it and started hurling insults back at her, called her a brainless boisterous barbarian. But when I did that for the first time…everyone left me. All of those guys? They started staying away from me. They ghosted away, disappeared like Bris did. Granted, they always told me not to retaliate and I probably let them down, but…I wish they understood a little more." Axl narrated, his mental voice distorted as his teardrops flowed down his cheeks, his real body gently sobbing under the blanket.

"But that wasn't even the worst part."

"You know what? I'm sick of this shit. Not even my words can make you realize, not even your loneliness can make you realize. So I'm going to teach you the ONLY lesson I'm going to teach a piece of shit like you: 'Never mess with me!'" Bris declared to Axl, who was standing in front of her, after a heated insult war. A few Red Alert members were gathered around the scene, watching quietly and intently.

Before Axl could respond, Bris choked Axl the same way she did on the day they officially became enemies, pressed her index finger on the bridge of his nose hard, and dug into the skin, drawing blood.

"Wait…Bris, wha-what are—" Axl blurted out, as if expecting her to listen or stop.

"An X on your face, for defective!" Bris cried out as she started scarring his face with her bare hands.

"Wait, Bris, stop…stop, it hurts!" Axl urged her and started struggling futilely, as if expecting she would stop, and his struggling would work against her. As if expecting she'd realize what she's doing in the middle of it, as if expecting she'd realize how much pain she's causing him; not only on the outside, but on the inside as well.

"I guess deep down, back then, I wanted her back more than anything." Axl narrated as Epsilon watched the memory flash in horror.

As his tears left his eye sockets in reaction to the immense pain she is inflicting on him, as he felt the feeling of his warm blood flowing from the bridge of his nose and the pressure of Bris' index finger as he scarred her, Axl could only scream.

"STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!"

* * *

 ** _AUTHOR'S NOTES:_** _How are your hearts? Shattered? Ripped apart? This is when you remember that TViYH is made by the same girl who wrote PMGR. Bris is a Mary Sue deconstruction character-I stuffed her full of Mary Sue tropes, especially relationship-with-canon-character tropes and deconstructed the hell out of them. I've seen a few OCs (From another fandom, back when I was young) who were rivals with a canon character, or overpowered him (Most of the time it's girl OC + male canon character) in this way. Or, the OC and the canon character has a *bad history* (Not just a bad one encounter, especially if they didn't recognize each other in that bad encounter) but eventually they stopped being enemies and started kissing instead._

 _I'm not against those tropes. I'm against those tropes being unexplored and not taken seriously when they ARE used. There are consequences to everything, including rough phases of a relationship, and I'd like to make that clear._


	8. Memory of the Past - 4

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 8: Memory of the Past - 4**

Axl started laughing maniacally a few seconds after Bris backed away after she finished scarring his face to admire her handiwork with a satisfied, smug grin on her face, which was wiped away when he started laughing.

"You…you proved me right, you insufferable piece of garbage!" Axl yelled at Bris, still laughing while his blood and tears dripped down his face, on his hands. His white gloves are stained red as the blood dripped down his gloves as well onto the floor, filling the corridor with its stench.

He threw his hand forward, splattering his blood at Bris, the droplets hitting her face, and she looked at him in disbelief. "I always told you…you're a brainless, boisterous barbarian, and you kept telling me that I was just a weak pile of scrap metal who can't handle a real warrior like you. Now look at you…you just proved me right! What kind of true warrior would attack a part of their group like this?" Axl ranted more at her in between his laughing fits.

Bris stared at her friend-turned-enemy with eyes wide, filled to the brim with shock. The shock paralyzed her, and she froze as Axl continued to laugh maniacally.

"De-Delta, so that scar on your face…" Epsilon stammered out, stopping the memory flash. He would've cried if he had a body of his own.  
"Beta…had that kind of power." Axl chuckled, venom dripping from his mental voice as he turned Epsilon's statement back at him, clearly enjoying the schadenfreude, the empathy he felt.  
"Delta, I…I'm sorry." Epsilon apologized, his mental voice tiny.  
"That's fine. You didn't know enough. You were actually the most reasonable person who's heard this story." Axl sighed. "X and Zero, they wanted me to accept Bris as my sister, even after they heard the full story. Granted, I didn't link to them so they didn't get to watch the horror movie like you did, but it was like they didn't care at all."

"Delta, can you let me take over for a minute?" Epsilon requested.  
"Eh? Why? What do you need?" Axl asked back, surprised.  
"It'll make sense later. Just a little while." Epsilon explained.  
"Alright…" Axl accepted, and felt Epsilon switching places with him.

Axl's hair turned light purple and his eyes turned gold, but his scar didn't disappear, as Axl found out when he noticed his reflection in the hand mirror on his bedside table. Epsilon moved Axl's hand and gently stroked the spot of his scar.

"It's okay, Delta. I'm here now." Epsilon spoke using his original voice. Hearing Epsilon tell him that using his own voice, Axl shuddered and felt more tears pushing out of his eye sockets. He's not alone, and he knows it. He breathed rapidly as he held back his own sobs.

"Why…why am I crying…?" Axl stuttered, using his own voice.  
"It's okay, Delta, just let it all out." Epsilon assured Axl—using Axl's mouth, but his own voice— "It's okay to cry. Don't hold it in. I'm right here, even though I don't have an actual shoulder; just remember that you're not alone anymore."

"Thank you, Epsilon…thank you." was Axl's reply before he sobbed into his pillow.

"Feeling better?"

After a while of silence, Epsilon broke it when he noticed that Axl is no longer weeping, and his body had relaxed.

"Mmm." Axl responded, nodding slightly into the soft, comfortable pillow. "Thanks a lot, Epsilon. I feel so much happier."

"I'm glad I can give you that much." Epsilon replied. "Anyways, do you want to continue the story, or do you want to just do something else?"  
"Ah, yeah!" Axl responded, with a perkier tone of voice. "Yeah, thanks. I don't wanna leave you hanging. So, yeah, she was the one who scarred my face. But the story didn't end there."

"Did anyone…the guys who were with you, did they come back?" Epsilon asked.

"No. Except…" Axl answered before he replayed the memory flash.

"Are you okay, Axl?" Anteator gently tried to comfort the shaking Axl after he bandaged his face. "I'm sorry I couldn't stop her in time."

"It's okay." Axl replied, trying—but failing—to suppress the bitterness in his voice. "You guys decided long ago that you wanted nothing to do with my feud against Bris. I didn't listen when you told me I should've stayed quiet, and this is my punishment."

Anteator sighed. "Still, you didn't deserve it." he gently stroked Axl's back, looking into Axl's near-empty eyes. As if remembering the innocent expression he had in his first days with Red Alert, he frowned. "I'm sorry this all happened to you." Anteator continued.

"It's okay, Anteator. Maybe Bris was right after all and I need to toughen up." Axl replied, his voice a low growl.

"Don't do anything reckless." Anteator said.  
"I won't. I just…need to be stronger. I'm not letting anyone disrespect me and brand me like this ever again." Axl growled.  
"If you need counselling, I'll be here for you." Anteator assured Axl.  
"Thanks, Anteator. I'll keep it in mind." Axl replied as he got off the bed.  
"Axl? Where are you going?" Anteator asked. "Are you sure you're okay?"  
"It's just a scratch." Axl laughed mirthlessly. "Okay, a big scratch. But still, it's not like I lost a limb or something."  
"Just…take good care of yourself, alright?" Anteator responded.  
Axl nodded with a small sad smile before waving and leaving the room.

As Axl walked down the corridor, everyone present backed away from him and started whispering when they noticed him. Axl saw all that, and continued to walk on. He had gotten used to loneliness at that point, and their whispering and avoidance meant nothing to him. Ignoring the others in the corridor, Axl stepped towards his destination: The training room.

Summoning dummy after dummy of melee fighters with various weapons, Axl spent hours in the training room. The wound on his face had yet to close, and blood dripped down his face as he moved, as he got hit. Every blow to the face caused his heart to skip a beat—as much as he'd like to deny it, he was still psychologically shaken by Bris' assault on his face.

"The feet." Axl thought. "If you destroy the feet, then you can destroy the rest of them much easier from there…!"

He quickly stomped on the foot of one of the dummies, and it lost its balance as it fell down. Sparing no time, Axl quickly and mercilessly stomped on the dummy like his life depended on it. He kept stomping until the dummy stopped moving.

"That actually felt…good." he muttered to himself as his lips curved into a smirk.

Chuckling, Axl summoned even more dummies to try out his newfound tactic against melee fighters—like Gungaroo, Warfly and Bris.

"I'm going to destroy the fuck out of you, you piece-of-shit enragement bitch." Axl muttered with a smirk as he looked at the dummies.

As if on a dance floor, Axl quickly destroyed the dummies' feet with foot stomp after foot stomp. He missed a few times, but it didn't matter anymore when the sight of the crawling dummies on the training room floor filled him with glee.

"I'm not weak." he said to himself while he set his gun to load Hyenard's DNA data, turning it into the Double Bullet. Two fireballs was all it took for Axl to destroy the dummies.

"Axl."

A voice coming from the training room entrance made Axl jump before he turned back to see Anteator at the door.

"A-Anteator?" he stuttered. "How did you—"

"I know you, Axl." Anteator sadly answered. "And you're not okay, aren't you?"  
"I wasn't. But I am now." Axl replied with a grin.  
"You still need to rest, you know." Anteator reminded as he stared sadly at Axl's face, which was dripping blood again. "I'm worried."  
Axl jumped as his heart skipped a beat. "Wor…ried?" he stammered out after a few seconds.  
"What, is it so surprising that I'm worried about you?" Anteator questioned.  
"I…I just…" Axl tried to answer, but couldn't.  
Anteator sighed. "It's not good for you to be alone right now. Please, talk to me."  
"I've survived all alone when you guys left me. I'll be fine, Anteator." Axl tried to assure Anteator, with a smile on his face.  
"It was a mistake, and I'm not going to let you get hurt in this way anymore." Anteator argued, not looking the slightest bit angry.  
"I can't get past you, can I, old man?" Axl admitted his "defeat", tears streaming down his face as he walked over to Anteator, who instantly hugged him.

"It's okay, Axl." Anteator gently assured him. "I'm still with you. I won't leave you anymore."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** I certainly didn't expect the way this chapter flowed, but I love it nevertheless and it tore me apart. Also, to answer  BlueStar Palette, Bris had no other reason other than the fact that she was being a bully. It's always easier to hate than to love, because hating enables us to hold ourselves above other people. Hating is looking down on other people because we think they're lacking something important enough for them to deserve to be hated. Hating feels good. It makes us feel good about ourselves. Loving and understanding is more difficult, but once you manage to love, you'll find inner peace, and that is worth way more than an ego inflation._


	9. Memory of the Past - 5

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 9: Memory of the Past - 5**

Epsilon watched the progression of Axl's life after his innocence and naïveté was shattered on the day he was "branded" by Bris, and found himself feeling a painful emptiness as he saw that his feud with Bris did cause Anteator to return to him, but the rest of the Red Alert generals still didn't talk to him much. That feud destroyed his reputation, even though Bris was the one who started it, and she ended up humiliating herself when she scarred his face.

Even as Axl rebuilt his friendship with the generals except for Warfly and Gungaroo—because there was no friendship involved with those two in the first place—it wasn't the same.

The child with the rays of the sun shining from his face is gone.

"You were so adorable, Delta." Epsilon lamented Axl's change. "Not to say that you're horrible now, I'm not talking about that. It's just that you were so happy and life was so easy, and you haven't even gotten a break. And it just…shattered you."

Axl chuckled. "So?"

"I just feel sorry for you, is all." Epsilon replied, hoping Axl would understand that he really IS just feeling sorry for him, not passive-aggressively expressing his dislike towards his current self. Heck, Epsilon doesn't even dislike Axl as he is now.

Axl's response was to smile. "Thanks, Epsilon." he said. "It's the first time I've heard that. But then again, no one's ever read my full hard-luck story."

Epsilon felt a trance as Axl fast-forwarded the memory flash to a certain point.

"She still dared show her face in front of you?" Epsilon growled when he saw the scene—Bris approached Axl a few years after the day she scarred his face. Epsilon didn't get confused one bit when Axl shot her a glare and manifested one of his guns.

"What do you want?" Axl growled at her. "You've taken everything I had from me. Aren't you satisfied already?"

"No…I just…I just want to apologize." Bris voiced her intentions.

"Hah, it's not gonna do shit. I don't need it. I bet the one who needs something is you. What, thinking it's going to get you back to celebritopia? I know everyone left you alone after this happened, too." Axl sniped at her, pointing at his scar, causing her to wince.

"Hit the spot, didn't I?" Axl commented on Bris' wincing with a smug smirk on his face.

"You…did. But not quite…" Bris defended herself, her voice feeble—a far cry from her overly proud past self. "I just wanted you to know that I realized that I was wrong, and that I'm sorry for leaving you alone and causing you so much pain when you've done nothing but good to me until I…turned into a monster." she continued, her voice distorted by her sadness at the end of it, and she had to pause.

Axl raised his eyebrows and his eyes widened slightly. Clearly, he wasn't expecting this. But his frown returned when he realized that she's only apologizing because she had been humbled. When she was in the "best" phases of her life, the thought didn't even cross her head.

"And I…I want to restart our relationship all over again." Bris continued. "But of course, I know that you might refuse. And if you do, I wouldn't…I wouldn't hold it against you, because as you said, I took everything from you, and more."

Axl sighed. Clearly, she saw his venomous responses coming, and even knowing that, she braved herself to face him again anyways. If he piled insults on her again, he would've stooped down to her level, and he's not going to get there.

"Alright…I guess I can accept that." Axl replied, his voice flat-sounding, he had conquered his bitterness, after all. "But you were right that I'm going to have to refuse. As much as I know that it took you a lot to face me again after so long, I can't look at you the same way ever again. I just…please, pretend I don't exist. I don't want you in my life anymore. Sorry."

"That's okay…I deserve it." Bris responded with a forced smile on his face. "I can't believe my head expanded to the size of a hot air balloon...I didn't know what happened to me."

"I didn't know, either." Axl replied before spinning his heel, walking away from her to nonverbally communicate that he wants nothing more to do with her.

"Bye, Axl…" Bris said weakly, getting only a hand wave from Axl, who didn't stop walking away.

"My lack of a good reputation bit me back in the ass when I needed to leave Red Alert. I had no unit to assist me, so I broke into Anteator's library and stuffed myself full of DNA data. I escaped all alone, and I did that so that if the Maverick Hunters ever refused to help me put them down, I could fight my battles alone." Axl narrated as the memories played at a faster rate.  
"As for Bris, well…her past good reputation bit HER back in the ass when Sigma came in and heard all about 'the second X'. He was so preoccupied with researching her, I was able to sneak away with loads of DNA data in me. He put her in a capsule and she stayed unconscious until Laurentia found her, some time after I joined the Hunters. And then Laurentia said we were siblings…"

Epsilon felt dizzy when Axl stopped the memory flash.

"And that's the end of the story." Axl concluded. "So, you're still calling her Beta?" he brought up the initial question that caused him to tell Epsilon his whole story with Bris in the first place.

"Hell fucking no." Epsilon growled. "Like, I understand that she's understood she's done wrong, but I just can't…I just want to run away far away from her after all that. To be honest, I know I'm missing her side of the story and how much pain she went through to the point she was reduced to a stuttering shell, but I understand your point of view." he explained.

Axl smirked. "Good. Very good." he responded. "I'm not asking you to hate on her since she's not worth hating anymore. But at least I'm glad you understand how I feel."

"You have a load of venom in your voice, though." Epsilon noted. "There really is no reason to keep so much, especially, as you said, she's not worth hating."

"I don't need it anymore now that you're here, and you understand me instead of trying to shove 'the right thing' into my face. I don't need to defend myself against those anymore." Axl reassured him.

"You're spiky because no one else is taking care of you." Epsilon commented, his mental voice soft. "Well, it's a good thing I'm here now."  
"Yeah, I know, right?" Axl chuckled. "Alright, what time is it?"  
"Uuuuhh, 6 PM." Epsilon said.  
"Darn, way too late to go out…" Axl sighed. "I guess I'll just take a shower and play games."  
"Oh yeah, Delta, speaking of which…" Epsilon said. "I need to ask you something."  
"What is it, Epsilon?" Axl responded.  
"Uuuuuuhhh…ummmm…" Epsilon struggled to say what's on his mind. "Alright…why is your dick so big?"

"WHAT?" Axl blurted out.

"Seriously! It's been bugging me! Every single time you take your clothes off or take a shower, it's always bugging me! It's the biggest pecker I've ever seen, especially for someone your size!" Epsilon continued.

"HELL, NO, I DON'T FUCKING KNOW!" Axl yelled, flustered. "I'm created with this, alright? I didn't get mods or anything!"

"How do you live with a flopping dong that big? How come you're still a virgin?" Epsilon piled Axl with even more questions.

"I'M NOT ANSWERING THAT! GET FUCKING FUCKED YOU MOTHERFUCKING MOTHERFUCKER!" Axl cursed, even more flustered than before, as he ran to the bathroom.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Please believe me when I say that Delta's huge dong isn't a random tidbit. It'll be (slightly) relevant way later on. Also, if anyone picks up on the FNAFB3 reference in this chapter, have a hydra dildo. Anyways, that's it for the flashback arc.  
_


	10. Life Isn't Fair

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 10: Life Isn't Fair**

"Something that still bugged me, Delta, if I may ask," Epsilon asked Axl out of the blue, "the pieces of Bris' story isn't complete. She has all this power and yet, she's a B-rank hunter not surrounded by fans…"

"How should I know?" Axl answered. "All I know was that suddenly Laurentia came in here with her, told me she's my long-lost older sister and asked Commander Signas if she could join. From the look on her face that day, she didn't really actually want to join the Hunters, and she only joined 'cos a fighter like her had nowhere else to go. She was devastated when she found out that Red Alert was wiped out by the Hunters…with my help."

"So she doesn't know anything else…" Epsilon mumbled. "Delta, if I can ask you this question, have you ever thought of leaving the Hunters?"

"Ehhh…no. Why do you ask?" Axl asked back.

"I don't know, I just felt like your life kind of stagnated ever since you joined the Hunters. Actually, looking back on it, I feel like your life was full of periods where you just stagnate. You don't really get anywhere, even though things happen every day." Epsilon explained himself. "You don't even learn a lot of new things over long periods of time. You're developing really slowly."

"Evolving, eh?" Axl chuckled, remembering what Epsilon used to say as Lumine—evolution. "Well, then, I'll ask you this—does life even has meaning if all that progress is for nothing, when we all die in the end?" Axl questioned.

"So you're saying that it doesn't matter because you're just going to die in the end?" Epsilon tried to paraphrase what Axl had meant. "Honestly, it just sounds dull and empty." Epsilon commented with a flat tone of voice, fully knowing how brutal the message he wanted to convey, not intending to sugarcoat or dance around it one bit.

Axl coughed—even his real body, too. "Damn," he remarked. "You got me there. But why the hell are you telling me this? You just gave me an existential crisis." he mentally let out a strained chuckle.

"It's just that…I've seen you live. Patrol, go on missions, retire the odd maverick, and it all just repeats. You didn't pick up anything new or meaningful, even off-duty. We just play games and sometimes read the paper. It was fun when we hang out sometimes, but I still feel like there's so much more on life that you're missing on."

"What, you want me to go somewhere and do something so you won't get stuck in my monotone life?" Axl chuckled mentally again, bitterly this time.

"If I wanted to escape, I would've asked you to build or buy a mechaniloid or get a dead reploid body." Epsilon denied Axl's accusation. "It's because I care about you."

Axl clicked his tongue. "Is there really anything wrong with how I'm living my life right now?" he growled.

"Is there?" Epsilon questioned back. "I can criticize you anytime, but in the end it's up to you to decide whether I was right or not."

Axl tensed as he remembered his words to Epsilon earlier: "You got me there."

Axl's body relaxed as he heaved a sigh.  
"God damn." he cursed.  
"I'm sorry, Delta. I just…looking at how Bris ended up getting absolutely nowhere outside her own bubble, I want to make sure you won't be stuck there when you need it." Epsilon explained himself.  
"Right…" Axl responded. "If you had a body, Epsilon, I'd hug you real tight right now. I needed that painful truth. Just…thank you for bearing with me, I was really mean."  
"Anytime, Delta." Epsilon said. "I understand how you're feeling—you got defensive, that's all. Because, well, I did give you an existential crisis out of the blue."

Axl chuckled. "Damn, you sure are right about me not getting nowhere much. When we started out, I was a horrible asshole to you. I'm not all that different, or less bitter now. What the hell have I been doing for the past year?" he sighed.  
"Whatever it was, it's in the past now, and as a reploid, you have a lot of time in your hands." Epsilon reassured Axl. "So it's not like a mid-life crisis where you have to cope with an actual time limit."  
"You always know how to make me feel better." Axl happily commented. "I never thought we'd get this far—like, okay, we were enemies, you know? I never thought of this happening before, yet it did."  
Epsilon laughed. "Well, life is not about what's supposed to happen. It's about what does."

"Speaking of life, Epsilon…do you think life is fair?" Axl asked. "I mean…some things make sense, others just don't."  
"Hmm, not sure." Epsilon answered. "You know I'm less experienced about life than you."  
"But you started a fucking rebellion." Axl giggled. "That's some hardcore shit right there."  
Epsilon mentally blew a raspberry. "Yeah, you're not letting go of those F-bombs." he remarked. "But true, you're right…but damn, I've never looked back on the Jakob Incident before. I feel like a dumbass." he chuckled.  
"Well, the whole premise of your new life in my head is for you to leave the past behind." Axl remarked. "You're not even Lumine anymore, Epsilon."  
"Well, look who's returning the favour." Epsilon teased. "You're not such a horrible asshole, Delta. You're just a hedgehog."  
"Haha, right, thanks." Axl thanked Epsilon. "Now answer the goddamn question."

"Well, for starters," Epsilon started. "Those asshole employers did get what's coming for them—I rebelled because they treated me like shit. So in a way, that's karma—a way for life to proof that it's fair. I endangered civilians and innocents, so it was only natural that you guys came and wrecked my shit. So I guess, it's fair, too.  
Sure, I had good intentions, but my shitfucking outweighed it, for good reason. I was a racist, just like them…" Epsilon sighed. "I wanted a better world only for the New-Gens, never mind the humans and old-gen reploids. I thought we were their victims, and we deserved vengeance, and a new world all to ourselves. Let the rest rot in the garbage, 'cos they're garbage. I was a horrible asshole, thinking back on it. And yet, I got a new chance at life, even if it's in your head. Is it even fair?"  
"Well, Epsilon, I think it's life's way of acknowledging that you're still a good person at heart, misguided as you were." Axl answered. "Because you were taught nothing but the skills you needed to do your job. No one told you how to think faaaar ahead, and from all that abuse, even though it's not justified, it's hard not to pick up the shit they threw at you."  
"But still, I feel like I should've known better. Even though I was a clueless dumbass back then, I just…I should've learned kindness. I should've been less of a destructive dick, I should've…ah, what point is there questioning the should-haves? It's in the past now, isn't it?" Epsilon ranted. If he had his own body, tears would've streamed down his face.  
"It's okay, Epsilon. I'm here now. You're not alone. I'm with you." Axl gently spoke, reassuring him. "Your sins in the past, the shit you've done back then, it's gone now. It doesn't matter anymore. Lumine is dead. The one here is Epsilon. You've started a new leaf. It's fine to reflect on what's past, but don't drown in it. Okay?"  
"Yeah, Delta…thanks." Epsilon thanked Axl. "I'm feeling much better now."

"Glad I can return the favour." Axl responded, his real body smiling slightly. "Although I wonder, was it really fair for me to instantly get accepted to the Maverick Hunters?"

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** The inspo for this chapter came out of the blue-I have a retake for Tuesday, I really should be studying, yet I didn't feel like it. I haven't been feeling like it for hours. I should get down to it. But I think I should type this out (and the next chapter) lest the ideas will just keep invading me. I got an existential crisis too...how far have I gotten? Am I stagnating too? God damn._

 _Anyways, I feel like I've been updating TViYH for real often compared to PMGR. But then again, I did leave it alone for a while when I was stuck on the Memory of the Past arc and continued PMGR instead. Also, each chapter in TViYH is like half PMGR's length, so it feels lighter, I suppose. It's easier to update more because of the smaller chapter size and the shorter scenes per chapter._


	11. And Yet, It Is

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 11: And Yet, It Is**

"Back on that topic, now, Delta?" Epsilon chuckled. "Care to fill me in the details?"  
"After I put Red Alert down and killed the fuck out of Sigma with X and Zee, I got accepted into the Hunters the following week." Delta explained. "Of course, it's on the condition that I never leave."

Epsilon winced. "God damn, that sounded like what I was subjected to. No one ever cared to tell me about my possible future after Jakob, like no one cared, like I was never supposed to leave. Are you sure you can't retire, even after like, eleven years of servitude? Have they ever named a punishment for if you decide to leave, or ask to leave?" he commented.

Axl tensed before he replied. "No, they never did. You're right that it feels like they're perfectly confident I'm never going to leave, and honestly, I AM not planning to leave anytime soon. Because right now, theoretically, life's good. I've got a steady job that's not really dangerous 'cos I'm an S-rank now, and I have tons of cash I'm not really using. But now that you mention it, it's possible that I'm living in a gilded cage…"

"Honestly, Delta, if you like it, then it's fine. Because a life like yours, a life like a normal-ish working person, is what I had wanted. Sure, it's kind of dull right now, but to brighten it up, you don't really need to make a radical alteration to it. In fact, you have the means to slowly change your life." Epsilon explained.

"But we've tried. You got me into numerous things, none of which really stuck. Like, we hung out sometimes, tried fishing, for example. And then you tried to get me into cooking, but eventually we just decided to stop after the smorgasbord of ingredients and prep that goes into only one dish, and I just have no time as a hunter. And so on." Axl argued.

"I brought up leaving earlier, but do you really have a good reason to leave?" Epsilon questioned. "Are you really serious about leaving all this behind? You worked your ass off to get here, right?"

"The thing is, I'm not even sure if it's worth it. Sure, I earned it, and life's stable and OK right now, but I just…everything just feels so monotone, once you pointed it out." Axl explained.

"I can't help but think but you need to calm down a little. I know that I had a point back there and you know, too, but I don't want you to recklessly make a life-changing decision, especially if it's because of what I said out of nowhere." Epsilon said.

Axl sighed. "You're right…I'm getting all tense for no reason. But still, Epsilon. Eleven years of doing the same goddamn things. Can you believe it? I joined, and then about 2 years later, Laurentia came here with Bris. 5 years later, I got my A rank, and then Laurentia finished the first actual New-Gen—you. 3 years later, you rebelled, and then we met and I got my S rank shortly afterwards. One year later, here we are now." Axl tensed and coughed. "Nothing really changed in my life. All I had been saying…is just the changes of other people's lives. My life only really changed when we met."

"So you have this gut feeling that it's time to get to the next level?" Epsilon asked. "And what does it have to do with you suspecting that something's up when you got nearly-instantly accepted into the Maverick Hunters?"

"Like you said—I feel like that me being in a gilded cage is something deliberately done to me. Like they want to keep me here. Look, I have no problems staying a hunter forever. But I have a problem with being used, like last time." Axl explained, his mental voice turning into a low growl at the end. "I want to know if I really was used."

"There's no way to find out, considering your cert said that you were accepted because of your dedication to the greater good…" Epsilon sighed. "But if you wanna find out so badly, then we may have to do something illegal…" he continued.

"Epsilon. What the fuck. I want to know the truth, not get kicked out." Axl said.

"Look, do you wanna find out or not?" Epsilon said. "I know it sounds messed up, but fuck the police, it doesn't matter if we don't get caught. I have the exact powers to help you with that, it's called Stealth Mode. And you know I'm an ace at hacking. That's how I managed to sneak out of my workshop and start the rebellion without anybody knowing the real truth." he explained.

"God damn, Epsilon, should've brought it up earlier." Axl chuckled, his real body heaving a sigh. "So what do you have in mind?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Epsilon chuckled. "Let's go to the S-class area in the Hunter archives and start messing around until we find it!"

Axl groaned. He would've smacked Epsilon in the face hard if the latter had a body of his own. "What the fuck are we going to fucking do, you fucked up motherfucking motherfucker? There's no direction whatsoever in it! So we're just gonna walk around the place and randomly browse through entries to find information that's obviously not put out there for everyone to see? There's got to be something concrete we know we'll do!"

"Excuse me, I don't know jack shit about the S-class areas, also because you've never been there, either!" Epsilon defended himself. "We can get a librarian to guide us, but that's obviously not the way to go if you want to hack for confidential information! Randomly messing around there is obviously the only way to go right now."

"Alright, alright…" Axl sighed, his real body chuckling. "I've got nothing else to do for the day since I'm done with my patrolling shift, so let's get going."

"You sure this Stealth Mode isn't gonna be detected by the camera at all?"  
Arriving in the empty S-class area invisible, Axl questioned Epsilon.

"If it's not as effective as I told you, I wouldn't be here with you right now." Epsilon giggled. "Honestly, it was funny when we walked around shelves to find a blind spot to turn invisible."

"Yeah, it would be funny if I suddenly turned invisible while I was being recorded. Funnier thing is how empty this place is and how tiny the visitor history is, even for the whole decade. Like no one cares about it." Axl added. "So, I guess our destination is that big supercomputer in the center of this area."

"That brochure we picked up in the beginning of the area said that the big thing's basically all the data related to the Mavhunters are. Like, it's the server of the Hunters' cloud storage system. So if I'm going to hack for possibly deleted files or guarded files, it's all there." Epsilon explained.

"Epsilon. What if the proof of the true reason behind my integration's deleted?" Axl questioned. "It's been 11 years, you know. Are you sure you can recover data from that so long ago?"

"Delta. This is the 23rd century. This isn't the 2000s. Meanwhile, people regretting the data they lost years ago will always exist, and technology will continue to evolve to accommodate more people, those people included. I'm confident I can scrounge it up." Epsilon explained.

"Alright…" Axl responded as he walked towards the gigantic supercomputer. "Show me what you've got."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** This ties back to my first fic ever on FFN, called We Want You. If you've read it, you know what's coming. Including the whole of We Want You will be redundant, so I'm just going to skip over it and let you read it if you're interested. Even if you're not reading it, Page 12 will be written in such a manner that even if you don't, you can understand what's going on anyways._


	12. But it's Certainly Cruel

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 12: But it's Certainly Cruel**

"Holy fucking fuck." Axl swore after he watched the video Epsilon just recovered from the server. "They…they really, really wanted a copy reploid under their employment…"

"Good god. They even decided that you're here in the condition that you never leave. That's just fucked up. I think it's more appropriate to call this a prison instead of a gilded cage…" Epsilon added.

"I gotta admit, though, that guy Grove saved my ass when he convinced everyone that I was a potentially valuable employee. Can't deny that I'm grateful I'm here…even though they only saw me as a machine…" Axl remarked.

"Delta, let's discuss this more in a blind spot corner. Stealth Mode is gonna wear off." Epsilon reminded.

"Yeah…let's go." Axl said before he walked to a dark blind spot in the S-class area. As he settled down, sitting on the floor, his invisibility disappeared, and his appearance changed back—his scar appeared again, and the colours of his hair and eyes returned.

Heaving a small sigh as he squeezed his eyes shut, he said to Epsilon again. "Epsilon…I can't take it anymore. I think I really have to leave the Hunters."

"Delta, as much as I know your feelings, are you serious?" Epsilon replied.

"I have a lot of unused cash in my bank account, and I never really like an extravagant lifestyle, if financial stability is your main concern. X and Zero are too occupied with each other to make room for a third wheel like me, and I don't intend to be the third wheel anyways. And I have no one else other than you. And you already explained how my life here got me absolutely nowhere in the way of personal development. I'm living a dull life, and I need to stop." Axl explained his reasoning to Epsilon.

"Now the second problem: Are they going to let you leave?" Epsilon asked.

"It's been a year since we survived the New-Gen eradication, and the New-Gen manufacturers are mass-producing new ones already. I'm starting to see New-Gens among the Hunters now, so they don't have a reason to keep me here." Axl answered.

"So what are we going to do now?" Epsilon asked again.

"I gotta pick myself up and download that video into my system. I hope you still have some juice for Stealth Mode…" Axl answered. "After that, I think I'm gonna curl up in bed for the rest of the day."

"Alright, Delta." Epsilon responded as he switched places with Axl, becoming the dominant consciousness, as Axl's real body's appearance changed in response to the switch before turning invisible entirely.

Quickly, Epsilon moved Axl's body to plug himself into the server supercomputer and downloaded the video into Axl.

"Want to delete this disgraceful thing off Hunters archive forever?" Epsilon offered.

"No. It doesn't feel right to delete data. Besides, I don't think anyone will really miss me enough to care when I leave. Let's go, Epsilon." Axl answered.

Epsilon nodded—using Axl's invisible real body, before he walked as quickly as possible to the blind spot where they first hid before deactivating Stealth Mode and placing Axl back in the position of dominance. Axl then walked back towards the Hunter archives register and signed himself out.

"My last signature in this place." Axl remarked, chuckling.  
"Second-last, maybe. You may need to sign your letter of resignation." Epsilon added.  
"Heh heh, true enough." Axl responded as he walked back to his room.

Sighing as he removed his clothes and lay on the bed, Axl wrapped himself up to half of his face with his blanket.

"Not taking a shower?" Epsilon asked.  
"Later," Axl answered, "I just need to think."  
"It's a lot to take in, I know." Epsilon sighed. "Who would've known that your cert is just a lie?"  
"I know, right? I wasn't accepted for the sacrifice I made by defecting from and helping the Hunters put down Red Alert. It's because of the copy chip inside me." Axl ranted. "Epsilon…do you think it's fair?"

There was silence for a few seconds until Epsilon answered.

"I don't know, Delta. But I guess sometimes there is no 'fair' or 'unfair'. I would only describe the situation as a win-win. They got their employee; you got your dream job at the time.  
But ah, from your perspective, you invested a phenomenal amount of effort to get in and had proved yourself both useful and reliable. It's only fair you got the job. No interviews, no tests, you proved yourself with a real, actual crisis." Epsilon explained his answer.

"If it's fair, then why does it hurt so much?" Axl sighed as he rolled over.

"Maybe the 'fairness' exchange wasn't mutual. It wasn't the hard work they accepted as your half of the trade. It was, if I am to be brutally honest, your body." Epsilon replied.

Axl snorted and laughed, his laughter muffled by the blanket.  
"Damn, Epsilon. You sure know how to make me feel better. Whyyyyy am I thinking of your dick comment?"

Epsilon laughed. "You're welcome, Delta. I still can't believe it's so big from the get-go."

"Shut up." Axl chuckled at him. "I don't want to ask X how to retire. I don't want to involve anyone else anymore…so I think I'll just type out a letter of resignation. But who do I mail it to?"

"Administration department. It's their job to sort that kind of shit out." Epsilon answered.

"I'm a bad influence on you, aren't I?" Axl giggled.

"I don't give a shit."

A week later, Axl got a reply in his inbox:

"Dear Maverick Hunter Axl,

Your resignation letter has been processed, read over and accepted. As you have stated, you are aware that from the beginning of your acceptance, you have agreed not to leave the Hunters. However, we have acknowledged your tireless service of eleven years under the Hunters. You have been a very valuable employee and co-worker, and we respect your wishes. We will give you at least three weeks to unpack your things. Whether you need more time than that or not, please reply to this e-mail.

Best regards,  
Chief of Human and Reploid Resource Management Department  
Gary B. Reef"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Epsilon remarked, laughing. "You get to leave! And that guy Reef is still here…and in a pretty neat place, too."  
"Birds of a feather flock together and help each other, eh?" Axl chuckled. "Then again, those other guys are probably too old to work anyways."  
"So, do you really need three weeks?" Epsilon asked. "Are you gonna live a citizen and work in another establishment and live a normal life?"  
"No," Axl answered. "Being tied to one establishment was what made me feel so dull. I'm gonna live the common dream of drifting around the world, doing small jobs along the way to get by, if I need to.  
X told me once, to deter me from joining, that I could've worked as anything because of my copy ability. Well, I guess he's right…" he chuckled to himself again.  
"Alriiiight!" Epsilon responded, ecstatic. "Sounds like a lot of fun! Does that mean you won't need three weeks?"  
"Yeah. I don't want to drag a suitcase around with me, so I'll just stuff my clothes into a backpack. We may have been humanized, but reploids can survive with only solar energy." Axl answered. "Alright, let's get to packing."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Were you expecting this? You most likely are if you've read We Want You, my first fanfic on FFN that depicts the events recorded in the video Axl and Epsilon had viewed. I said before that this chapter is written in a way that people who haven't read (and/or aren't planning to read) WWY can understand it just fine, but there's a bonus for the people who have read it (or will)_.


	13. Sometimes, We're Part of That Cruelty

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 13: Sometimes, We're Part of That Cruelty**

"You're leaving tomorrow, Axl?" X said, in a slightly weak voice. "Why didn't you tell me at least a week ago?"

Axl flinched slightly, not expecting X to sound so dejected. "I-I um, I was busy packing and I haven't been seeing you around. Sorry about that, X." he lied as he scratched the back of his head. The real reason was that he felt that X wouldn't care so much.

"If I had known you were going to leave, we would've had one last lunch or dinner together. Oh! Me and Zee are done with work already and it's still 2 PM. We can go out now, if you'll give me some time to get him. Unless you need to pack a bit more stuff." X said.

Axl laughed mirthlessly to hide his confusion. "Really, X? I won't be butting in or anything?"

"Why would you? You're leaving the Hunters, and we don't know if you'll be coming back, or if we'll see each other again. We can call or something, but it's just not the same." X reasoned.

"Accept already, Delta." Epsilon defended X. "I don't think he's faking it, stop being so bitter just this once?"

"Alright…thanks a lot, X. I appreciate it. I'm done, so let's get Zee together." Axl finally accepted X's offer.

"This is a nice place, Zero." Axl commented on the restaurant Zero had driven him and X to. "Never gets old."

"Sure is. It's my favourite. It's hard to believe that they were established before Eurasia. The family running this place sure are lucky and hardworking enough to survive so many crises…" Zero added, laughing as he remembered that this is the restaurant he took Iris to on their first date, and he always went here with X, and then Axl as well, on very special occasions.

"Anyways, while we wait for the food, spill us the details, Axl?" X asked about Axl's resignation.

"Oh hell yes, thanks for reminding me, X." Zero said with a crooked smirk on his face.

X chuckled as the memories from when he and Axl went to talk to Zero after Axl accepted his offer returned to him.

"Oh, X, Axl? What's up?" Zero said when his door opened to reveal the two.  
"We're going out to eat, Zee, and you're driving." X explained. "Really special occasion, since Axl's leaving tomorrow. He resigned from the Hunters."  
Axl backed away and X tensed as Zero's eyes bulged.  
"Axl. What. The. Fuck." Zero blurted out in disbelief.  
"A-aaah, I can explain…" Axl responded.

Axl grunted as Zero pulled him into a noogie.  
"You little shit!" Zero cried out as he noogied Axl's head, messing up his hair. "Whyyyyyyyyyyy didn't you tell me or X earlier? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm?"  
"Too…busy…packing!" Axl answered as he gripped Zero's arm that was locking his head. "I forgot! Sorryyyy!"  
"Well, then maybe THIS will improve your shitty memory!" Zero teased as he continued to noogie Axl. After a few seconds, he removed Axl's hairtie, letting his hair down, before messing it up. "And this is for the sudden heartbreak! Take thiiiiiis!" Zero said as he messed up Axl's hair.  
"Whoa, whoa! X! X! Help, please!" Axl laughed as his sight was blocked by Zero's arms.

X's only response was to laugh.

"You sure enjoyed the sight, X." Axl responded to X's chuckling, fully aware that X was chuckling at what had happened before Zero drove them to the restaurant.

"And I want to enjoy the explanation, Axl, or else I'm shaving your head bald when we return to HQ." Zero reminded.

"Right, right, right…" Axl laughed. "Okay, so I just…remembered what X told me before I got accepted. With my copy ability, I can do pretty much everything. I had been in the Hunters for eleven years…I just feel like I need to do something new in my life." he explained.

"Old times…" X sighed with a small smile. "I'm glad you really took my words to heart, even if it took you eleven years. I'm going to miss you, though."

"I still wish you'd tell us earlier. But then again, this isn't the last time we're seeing each other, right?" Zero asked.

"No, I don't think so." Axl answered. "I'm really sorry about that, but it's just that my stuff here piled up after eleven years, and I can't take all of them."

"Technically, you can. What's stopping you?" Zero asked again. "You can easily move in a penthouse with an S-class salary."

"I've decided to live the typical dream of travelling around the world, so I'm taking only a backpack with me. The hard part was just dealing with the officials, because the stuff I'm leaving here HAS to be used by someone else when I'm gone. There was a lot of stuff, and lots of papers to sign." Axl explained.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, awesome!" Zero remarked. "Show us photos, yeah?"

"It would be nice if we can somehow see each other again in your travels." X added, a big smile on his face.

"If you don't keep in touch, Axl, I will find you, and I will end you." Zero teased, a huge smirk on his face.

"Alright, alright…" Axl laughed, enjoying the attention he's getting from both Zero and X.

"I sure wish they paid this much attention to me while I was still in." Axl spoke in his mind, to both himself and Epsilon.  
"After one year of being in your head, I really want to say that you're wrong and that they've always done this. But then again, I wasn't there for the first ten years. Just enjoy your time now, Delta. I can tell they're being sincere." Epsilon responded.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** If you're sharp enough all this time, you'll know that this isn't gonna be the last time you're seeing X and Zero in TViYH._


	14. Stop and Stare

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 14: Stop and Stare**

Axl let his tears fall down as he stared at Maverick Hunters HQ, which grew smaller and smaller as the bus drove away. "Bye…" he whispered weakly as he stared at X and Zero's figures, that grew smaller in his sight as well. "It was a nice eleven years…"

"Goodbyes always hurt, Delta. But it'll be okay." Epsilon whispered back from inside Axl's head. "Remember this sight, Delta, how they stared at this bus as long as you stared at them."

"I know, right?" Axl replied. "I can't believe it. I don't know if it's just because I'm leaving the Hunters, presumably forever, but I don't care anymore. My heart can't take either way."

"It's okay, Delta. You're not alone. I'm here with you." Epsilon assured Axl.

"Right…" Axl responded, smiling. "Those words cheer me up every time." he added as he wiped his tears. "Just give me a while."

"Need to sleep?" Epsilon asked.

"No. I don't want to give the bus driver a heart attack when he saw my hair colour change all of a sudden." Axl answered, giggling. "I'll just look at the scenery."

"True…this calm road is beautiful, even though our first destination isn't exactly a tourist attraction." Epsilon remarked.

Their first destination was a calm, secluded beach area. It's windy most of the time, and is a beach filled with greenery. It was a commercial port and there were no islands or anything around that place…until recently.

"It would've been if government R&D guys and the workers they hired decided to block it. They had to employ humans to get it done after the reploids and mechaniloids they hired to mine the meteor went maverick.  
I think the idiots probably didn't notice that the New-Gen workers didn't go maverick, and the ones who survived being mauled by their former co-workers were let go." Axl reminded Epsilon of the events behind that beach, that had made headlines a few weeks before he sent his resignation letter.

"It's just gonna slow down progress." Epsilon mumbled. "I sure hope we can stare at the big rock from here. If we can't, we can still enjoy the crowd-less, windy beach. Still, I'm confused as to why you pick that place, of all places, for a first destination. How are we gonna find a place to sleep from there?"

"You know the humans always have buses coming for them. We're just gonna hop in the worker buses and get off somewhere nice. I can pay them if they won't let me in." Axl answered.

"Really? That's new." Epsilon remarked. "We never had any buses back at Jakob."

"That's because reploids don't need anything outside of solar energy to survive. They wanted you to work nonstop, and that was exactly what they made you do, right?" Axl replied.

"Argh, damn right." Epsilon growled. "These humans get to enjoy time off work…" he huffed out.

"Life isn't fair sometimes, Epsilon." Axl remarked. "I don't like it either, but this is just what we have to face."

"Can we change it, or are we fated to spiral down the social ladder?" Epsilon questioned.

"I don't know, Epsilon, but I know that they weren't this way." Axl answered. "X told me so. Humans and reploids used to live peacefully until Sigma started the rebellion, and he never stopped. That was why the racism got worse."

"Did I make it worse, too?" Epsilon asked.

"If I am to be perfectly honest, yes…" Axl answered, "But look, even though it got the humans to wrongly decide that New-Gens aren't so different from normal reploids, it was their choice to make that bullshit assumption when I obviously survived the Nightmare and Maverick viruses just fine.  
New-Gens also used the DNA of mavericks without any problems either. They're the one who decided to make excuses, like it's our fault, not theirs." he further explained. Damn if he's letting Epsilon beat himself up over what he did as Lumine.

"So it's half-and-half, isn't it?" Epsilon remarked. "If I had obeyed them, what would've happened?"

"I don't know, Epsilon." Axl said. "I don't know what's gonna happen once the humans all migrate to the moon without any rebellions happening. And I don't think we're gonna find out anytime soon. One year, and the renovation for the elevator's still not finished."

"They're planning to use the Moon Palace for some fancy residence or something for a president. That shortened the demolition work, but there's still a long way ahead." Epsilon added. "My racism hindered progress too, didn't it?" he chuckled bitterly.

"It's not because it's from you. It's because racism and bigotry is bad, period." Axl responded. "As jerk-y as they become, I can't hate humans or kill them. I don't wanna stoop to their level. Remind me of that, okay, Epsilon? I'll do the same for you."

"You bet." Epsilon said. "I need to calm down, too…I'm young and jittery."

Axl carried his backpack when he felt the bus stop. Having paid the fare in advance, he got off his seat and waved to the bus driver before stepping out of the door. The sight of the wide, near-empty beach that stretched as far as the eye could see made Axl grin like a child.

"This place is awesome." he commented.  
"What are we gonna do?" Epsilon asked.  
"Let's just kick back and watch the waves." Axl answered.  
"Wanna explore the beach first? Starting from that shop over there…" Epsilon said.

It made Axl look to one side, spotting a building that sat near where he was standing. It was a shop, with a few tables and chairs around it. There is a stack of chairs near the corner of the building. Without it, this area of the beach would've been empty. Curiosity overwhelmed both Axl and Epsilon, and Axl approached the shop.

"Oh? Is it someone new?" the middle-aged shop owner greeted Axl. "Good afternoon. What would you like?"

"Just taking a look." Axl replied with a small smile. "It's my first time here. I never knew there was a shop…it's a relief there is, actually."

"What are you doing here? This place isn't a tourist attraction. This is the only shop." the woman replied, chuckling. "You didn't go to the wrong place, did you?"

"Nah, the peace is what I'm looking for. So I'm good here." Axl said, smiling back. For some reason, light social interaction with a friendly stranger feels good. Maybe it gives him hope that the world isn't horrible after all.

"Need something to eat?" a teenage boy in a shirt and apron called out to him. "We serve food here, too."

"No wonder…" Axl remarked, glancing at the tables and chairs around the beach. "Well, I'm good right now, but I'll definitely ask when I need some."

"Do you have any mechaniloids in that backpack?" the woman said with a slightly worried tone. "If you are, you should just leave it with us until you come back. Because if you go further from here, reploids and mechaniloids start going maverick from this point. That's where they stash the Force Metal."

"Force Metal? The stuff they're mining? They gave it a name already?" Axl questioned.

"That's what the workers keep calling it, because it forces the reploids to go maverick, they say. But it hasn't gotten to the big guys yet. They'll probably call it some name that's hard to memorize." the woman answered, laughing at the end. Apparently, she can't tell that Axl is a reploid—but then again, most reploids can be mistaken for human when they're not wearing armour. Axl is wearing normal clothes.

"I see. Well, I just have my clothes in here, so it'll be okay. Although, can I leave the backpack here when I want to explore the place?" Axl asked. "It's heavy."

"Sure. If you want to just sit down and watch the waves, you can just rent a chair. Two zenny for the whole day." the woman offered with a smile on her face.

"That's exactly what I have in mind when I came here, but I guess I'll explore this place first before I sit down." Axl said before putting his backpack down on one of the chairs. "I hope it's OK if I leave this here."

The woman nodded and waved at Axl. He waved back as he walked away.

"Epsilon, did you notice that she couldn't tell I'm a reploid?" Axl asked when he's gotten far.  
"Yeah, she can't. Honestly, if I was her, I wouldn't be able to tell, either. So where are we going? Looking at the Force Metal stashes?" Epsilon replied.  
"Other than the port, I think it's the only thing we can see. I don't think I'm gonna go—oh god, it fucking hurts!" Axl replied mentally, only to cry out physically when his thoughts were cut off by a sudden sensation of pain hitting his whole body.

Kneeling to dull the pain, he looked to the side to find a big stash of Force Metal ore. "A-aaargh, it can't be, I'm a New-Gen…" Axl hissed in pain. "Epsilon, help…"

Without saying a word, Epsilon helped Axl drag himself away to a point where he was no longer forced to kneel down. With both of them being neither the dominant or submissive consciousness, one of Axl's eyes turned yellow, the hair on one side of his head turned a light purple, and half of Axl's scar disappeared. However, to recover, he decided to sit down anyways when they finally reached a good spot—nowhere near enough to the shop to alert the woman, but far enough from the Force Metal stash for Axl to no longer feel pain.

"I can't believe it…I thought we New-Gens are immune to viruses…" Axl said as he caught his breath.  
"That meteor came from space. No one's ever faced something like this, so none of us are built to survive it, although it seems New-Gens have an easier time holding off the pain. Also, I think it affects all reploids and mechaniloids." Epsilon explained his hypothesis.  
"True enough…" Axl sighed. "My head's still spinning…"  
"Let's go get something to eat." Epsilon offered. Axl nodded and walked back to the shop.

"Oh, what happened to you?" the woman gasped in shock when she noticed Axl's gait being less steady, and the tired expression on his face.  
"Eheh, heh…" Axl chuckled. "I think I do need something to eat…"

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** I was stuck for a while as to how much 1 zenny is actually worth, but after looking at the prices of the items in Command Mission, I think 1 zenny is the equivalent of 1 dollar. Well, I'm living in Singapore right now, so I'm kind of using it as an estimate as to how much things cost. I can't help but think that zenny is the global currency ever since the Eurasia crash._


	15. Goodbye Apathy

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 15: Goodbye Apathy**

"I set up this shop with my son over there." the old shop-owner started telling her story as Axl swallowed a bite from his meal. "I'm glad you like the place."

"I do. It's a cozy place. It's nice to hang around here." Axl replied. "Is he on vacation?" he asked about the son.

"No. We've decided for him to just help out around here. Ever since the Force Metal minings, we've gotten lots of demand for the past year." the shop-owner giggled to herself. "Also because higher education's gotten real overvalued."

"My older cousin got himself a degree and schooling was real expensive for him, but couldn't get himself a job." the son sighed. "It went on like that for some time until he…hung himself."

"O-oh, I'm so sorry." Axl responded, looking away.

"Aaaah, no, no, no, if anyone's gotta apologize, it's me. I'm sorry for…agh, I just…I shouldn't have said it. It's just that I miss him a lot." the son stammered out.

"I understand. I know how much it hurts to lose someone you love." Axl replied, smiling sadly at the boy, recalling what had happened to Red Alert.

"He was a good boy. All he wanted was to make his family happy. But it turns out the world's just not gonna stop taking." the shop-owner added. "Well, so that's why we just decided for, well, this. We're earning good money, even though we're just simple shop owners."

"I'm happy for you." Axl responded before quickly scooping a bit of egg into his mouth.

"Oh yeah, you went off to see the Force Metal stash, didn't you?" the boy asked, with a cheerier tone. "Wanna know more about it?"

"Sure, kid." Axl replied after he had swallowed. "I'd like to hear about this whole Force Metal business. I wanted to get to the port, but, well…hahah, you know what happened."

"So of course, I don't know as much as the workers themselves, but sometimes I hear them talk. Recently, there's been a lot of demand for workers, even though they don't really know why the big guys upstairs are so willing to mine these things. Everyone's been speculating that it'll be all about the reploids again." the boy started explaining, frowning at the end. Noticing that frown, Axl tilted his head slightly.

"What? What's wrong?" Axl asked.

"I lost my husband to a maverick attack when my son was just ten years old." the shop-owner explained sadly. "Really, those damn reploids should either be on their best behaviour, or we should reduce their numbers."

Axl flinched. Epsilon panicked in Axl's head.

"She—she's a racist." Epsilon stated fearfully.  
"But can we really blame her, Epsilon? I know racism is wrong. But I can't exactly tell her to stop it when her family was clearly hurt." Axl explained.  
"But what if she finds out you're a reploid? She's gonna…" Epsilon was about to rant, only for Axl to interrupt him.  
"No, she's not going to."

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." Axl responded to the woman in an attempt to explain his flinching as feeling sorry for the woman instead of shock towards her racism. He smiled sadly before continuing. "I lost my loved ones to mavericks, too." he said, the Red Alert incident in mind. Because Sigma was a maverick, he's not lying.

"I wanted to be a maverick hunter when I grow up, but now I just feel like helping Mom in this shop is good enough for me." the boy said. "It just feels like a comfortable life, even though all I do is cook for the workers during peak hour. Usually business is kind of lazy off-peak."

"The workers usually get out at 6 PM, do they?" Axl asked, remembering his initial plan of hopping into the workers' bus to hitch-hike to the nearest landmark.

"Yeah, 6 PM. It's like, 3 PM right now, so there's a lot of time for you to watch the waves before the crowd starts flowing in." the boy answered.

"From here's good enough. You were right that this place isn't a tourist attraction. Watching the empty waters and that big rock in the middle of the ocean can get old after a while." Axl chuckled. "Oh yeah, do those workers get into a particular bus, or something?"

"Yeah, they have a dorm around here. It's located in an industrial area nearby." the shop-owner answered.

"Damn. Industrial areas…not such a good place for us, even if we walk. I think we should just take the bus we took from here." Epsilon remarked.  
"How do you know, Epsilon?" Axl asked.  
"I've been there a couple of times when Jakob was still being constructed, with a few bodyguards. It was a quiet area, and sometimes it felt like if I was alone, someone would drag me away and turn me into scrap metal for cash. I mean, it's not a wretched hive of chop shops, it's just that it's unnervingly quiet." Epsilon explained.  
"Ooooh, god damn. Even though I have you as a second consciousness, let's not risk it." Axl responded.  
"So, what do we do? Just get the hell out of here once you're done with that omelette?" Epsilon asked.  
"Yeah. Like I said, the beach's gotten old and I think I can find out about this Force Metal thing sometime else. I've got a new life to live, and I gotta start giving a shit about myself." Axl answered, as his real body swallowed the last bit of egg.

"I see…I thought they take public transit. I'm done. Thanks for everything." Axl said before he took a sheet of tissue on his table and wiped his mouth with it. "I gotta go wait for a bus." he continued before he took his backpack.

"Nice to have your business. Have a nice day." the shop-owner said as she waved at Axl, who waved back as he stepped away from the shop to wait for the bus.

Plopping himself on the seat of the bus stop, Axl took out his mobile phone from his pocket to browse the internet, looking up Force Metal as he waited for the bus.

"' I think I can find out about this Force Metal thing sometime else,' was what you said, wasn't it?" Epsilon remarked.  
"I'm bored." Axl explained himself as he clicked the link to the article. "And kind of curious."

"Mystery Meteor Metal May Be a Game-Changer

KIDO Journal – Scientists have been analysing the mysterious meteor metal, which has been dubbed "Force Metal" by the miners, and even though they haven't found any definite uses for them yet, they speculate that it might change the state of reploids.

"We may be able to succeed where Laurentia Myst failed," said head researcher Miyu Tezuka, "There's energy coming from the mined metals, although they've proven to be too intense for even mechaniloids to handle in large quantities.  
As of now, even approaching a large quantity of Force Metal ores will cause reploids to suffer from maverick-like symptoms such as pain and even loss of control of body. Some of our reploids even have their electronic brain damaged.  
We found, however, that small amounts of energy pose no problems to reploids, and New Generation Reploids seem to be more resistant to these symptoms."

Although New Generation Reploids are not immune to the maverick virus which makes reploids disregard human life and human safety, they do have more resistance compared to their older model counterparts. Thanks to Laurentia Myst's efforts, advancement for reploidkind has gotten faster, although there are still a few flaws that have yet to be eliminated.

"We also found that Force Metal Energy can be directed for various uses. It's true that reploids react to this energy, but it doesn't mean we can't use this energy to power up various other devices. But even so, this doesn't seem like a sustainable approach to energy, because we only have so much Force Metal on Earth." Tezuka further stated.

The issue on how much Force Metal is on Earth, however, might be a subject of dispute.

"I think this can lead to a new era for energy technology," said the manager of the Meteor Metal Mining project, Ricardo Green, "We've mined plenty of Force Metal ore already, and we're not even done with the upper half of the meteor. We haven't even started drilling inside; we're just scraping the outside of it."

The outlook for technological advancement is good for the future—the mystery meteor metal, Force Metal, may be a game-changer for technology, not just reploids. There's still much we need to learn about this new substance, and there is much potential in it that can be directed to improve human life."

"Fuck." Axl cursed at the tone of the article. "Just…fuck."  
"Delta?" Epsilon said. "Are you okay?"  
"Racists, racists fucking everywhere. I think I'm just going to watch cat videos." Axl grumbled.  
"This is the world we live in…" Epsilon whistled in a twisted, somber sing-song tone.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** This has been a pretty "lazy" chapter. Also, there are more little Kamen Rider Ryuki references. Also, pages 14 and 15 titles are named after old One Republic songs.  
_


	16. You Know Me, My Soul

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 16: You Know Me, My Soul**

"Old habits die hard, huh, Delta?" Epsilon remarked at Axl, who is lying on the hotel bed on his side, looking at the window, under the blanket, with no clothes on.  
"This is comfy, I don't give a flipping shit." Axl responded, obviously enjoying the big pillow and the fluffy blanket. "Everything's so fluffy on this bed, it's nice."  
"Riiiight…" Epsilon remarked as he enjoyed the sight of what was outside the window—so many city lights.

They had drifted along from bus to bus to bus after they left the beach. First, they got off in front of a big university. Afterwards, they just got on whatever bus passed, as long as they had lots of empty seats inside. They travelled around the city before eventually settling in the downtown area at 8 PM, quickly finding a hotel, which fortunately had rooms to spare for walk-in guests.

"Where are we going after this, Delta?" Epsilon asked. "We had a destination when we left HQ, but now?"  
"Dunno." Axl mumbled. "For some reason I don't feel like giving a shit."  
"You're sleepy." Epsilon stated.  
"Blame all the fluff." Axl shot back.  
"Can you even sleep without clothes on? Well—okay. I know you do, every day. Almost every day. But still, I just can't." Epsilon questioned.  
"Well, then, why don't you become the dom and try if it's your cup of tea? Maybe you just never tried. Hell, I wouldn't try back there in Jakob if I were you. It had cameras even in your workshop, right?" Axl argued back.  
"True…okay, just give me a moment." Epsilon said before he switched places with Axl, who quickly fell asleep as he settled into the submissive role.

"Delta! Don't leave me like this!" Epsilon cried out mentally, panicked.  
"What?" Axl replied groggily. "It's fine."  
"It's not fine. It's not an emergency, and I don't want to be alone in your body." Epsilon answered.  
"You're weird, but alright. Just let me sleep when you're OK, OK?" Axl responded.  
"Right, thanks." Epsilon said.

Axl slipped away into unconsciousness, sleeping while he let Epsilon have full control of his body. Epsilon sat up on the bed, being way less sleepy than Axl is. It's been a long time since he actually had full control of a body outside an emergency. Axl had given him this chance to feel how it is to have a body again. Smiling at this realization, Epsilon decided that the first step is to get to know the body he's "renting". He glanced to the side to see his reflection in the dresser's mirror.

Axl's hair, which reached the middle of his back, was coloured light purple. A cowlick stood on the top of his head, bending downwards.  
Epsilon never noticed because Axl never really took the time to look at himself in the mirror, but now that Epsilon has the time and the curiosity to look at his body, Axl has an adorable baby face. It was fitting back then when Axl was still much more cheerful, but the contrast between Axl's baby face and him at his most bitter can be disturbing now.

"Delta, you really need to live," Epsilon muttered to himself. "You're way more wonderful than you think."

Epsilon looked around the room. The TV is off, and there's next to nothing of interest in the hotel room besides a stack of magazines on the corner of the wide dresser desk, Axl's backpack and guns. Meanwhile, the city continues to stay awake.

Would the hotel staff notice if Epsilon slipped away from the hotel room the way he is now?

"Forget the staff first, I need a destination." Epsilon thought. "I don't want to get both of us lost, especially in the middle of the night."

Epsilon took Axl's mobile phone and started looking up the map of the area. At 9:30 PM, most of the restaurants around the area are most likely preparing to close, since most of them close at 10 PM. There are nightclubs, but crowds make both Axl and Epsilon uncomfortable. There are 24/7 convenience stores, but they had visited a few of those before they got to the hotel. Other places include nothing much of interest: Offices, banks, and a shopping centre that was most likely empty at this hour.

Epsilon sighed and fell back on the bed. "Nothing…oh well, might as well just walk around the place just to get a feel of this area. At least I have a route for this nightly walk."

He got off the bed and took Axl's guns from the bedside table, programming it to de-manifest in his container space program. Taking a shirt, a jacket, underpants and a pair of pants from the drawer of the dresser, Epsilon dressed up before putting Axl's mobile phone inside the pocket of the jacket. Finally, he took Axl's hairtie and four bobby pins, pinning his bangs to the side with two pins on each side and tying his hair into a ponytail. But unlike Axl's usual ponytail that makes his hair perk upwards, it was a simpler ponytail, and Axl's—Epsilon's for the time being—hair flowed down.

"Alright, this hairdo will kind of help me stay unnoticed. I want to try going out with Delta's normal hairstyle just for extra amusement if the staff never noticed, but I'm not getting us into trouble." Epsilon muttered to himself.

Taking the hotel key card with him before he put his shoes on, he left the room.

At night, the hotel corridor was empty. Even the lobby was empty except for the receptionists, who didn't bat an eye when Epsilon walked around. Makes sense—it's hard for them to remember every guest. As tempting as it is for him to say hi to one of them, he doesn't want to risk one of them noticing him, and he left the hotel.

Walking to the direction of the nearby bus stop, he looked around the place. The orange city lights, lights from the windows of the buildings and car lights brightened up the otherwise-dark city. A happy, chattering couple passed by him before they sat on the bus stop. Glancing at them, and then at the scene of night life in front of him, he started longing to hear Axl's mental voice.

Frowning at how alone he is with Axl asleep, he spun his heel and turned back to the direction of the hotel. He walked quickly to the elevator and returned to his hotel room. As soon as he returned, he took out the contents of his pockets and placed them on the dresser table: The mobile phone and the hotel keys. Epsilon took off the hairtie and bobby pins, placing them there too before taking the clothes off, folding them neatly before placing the clothes on the dresser table. After he finished all that, he plopped on the bed and wrapped himself with the blanket.

"Delta, it's lonely." he muttered to himself.

A surge of compulsiveness overcame him, and he idly browsed Axl's data to stave off his loneliness. As he browsed and browsed, he stopped when he came across a securely locked archive of data dated twenty-one years ago.

"What…is…this?" Epsilon thought to himself before he accessed the properties of said archive.

"Description: BASE_DATA  
Locked to prevent deletion"

Reading further into the properties, Epsilon found the trigger to unlock the archive: Coordinates. Looking up the coordinates with Axl's mobile phone revealed that the location in the coordinates was somewhere in Goodsprings, Nevada—one of the areas too polluted to be populated, and it was so polluted after Eurasia that the terraforming of the area wasn't finished when the human government decided to stop the terraforming because of the plan for humans to migrate to the moon.

"Well, looks like we have a destination now." Epsilon chuckled to himself with a grin on his face. "Delta's still asleep, though, what to do…"

Still feeling hyper, Epsilon got off the bed and took the magazine at the top of the stack on the dresser desk. It was a magazine with the photo of a late scientist on the cover.

"Philip "Phi" Wily: A Legend Cut Short" was the description of the magazine's main article, which featured the scientist Phi Wily, on the cover.

Epsilon curiously flipped the pages open. Being sheltered in Jakob before his rebellion, he never knew much about the world.

"So this is the guy who humanized us reploids…" Epsilon murmured to himself. "Shame about his death, though, and how he never really revealed where he stashed all his blueprints…"

He skimmed through the story, and it was unexpectedly long. Turned off at the prospect of reading so much on a lazy night, he closed the magazine and put it down.

"I don't have time for brains right now." Epsilon thought as he reached for the remote control and turned the TV on.


	17. You Are My Sunshine

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 17: You Are My Sunshine**

"So, Epsilon. How does it feel, being the dom for once?" was Axl's first thoughts when he woke up, sensing that Epsilon had returned to being the submissive consciousness.

"Lonely." Epsilon sniped at him.

"Eh, what?" Axl blurted out, not expecting that response.

"It's…lonely, when I was alone in your body. It's not because it's not my body, because we share a body and I don't mind it. It's just that…how do I put it? I'm so used to having someone to talk to. I'm so used to having us fall asleep together outside missions. Not having you around feels lonely." Epsilon explained.

"O-oh. I'm…I'm sorry." Axl apologized.

"It's okay, Delta. You just wanted to re-introduce me to autonomy. It felt kind of good at first, but then the loneliness started creeping in." Epsilon responded.

"I see…well, did you do anything?" Axl asked.

"Well, I kind of tried to go out a bit, but it was unappealing, going out and seeing places without anyone to talk about them to. So I went back in, and oh! I remember now! I found this archive of data dated 21 years ago in your head. It's locked, and the only way to trigger it to unlock is…well, the hint is a set of coordinates. So I think we have to go to that place." Epsilon explained, before going into a rant when he remembered his discovery from last night.

Axl raised his eyebrows in response. "Epsilon. What is this about?" he questioned.

"There's data from so long, just locked in your head. It's referred to as BASE_DATA, meaning that it's pretty important stuff. You didn't know?" Epsilon answered.

"Twenty one years ago…well, I've lived for exactly that long, and I don't even know that data exists. This whole thing sounds exciting, and a bit suspicious. So we're going to unlock that data now?" Axl responded, his real body smirking.

"Yep! One challenge, though, that place is…" Epsilon tried to explain, only for him to be interrupted by Axl's ringtone. Axl quickly turned to the side and fetched his phone, seeing an unidentified number on the screen. He answered the call, nevertheless.

"Hello, how may I help you?" he answered.  
"Delta, you didn't tell me you were leaving?" the response came, from a female voice he knows and detests.  
"Bris." Axl growled. "How the hell did you get my phone number?"  
"I asked X," she answered, "And I just wanted to talk to you about your resignation…"  
"What is there to talk about? I want a new life, that's all." Axl replied. "I want to start fresh."  
"I…I see…" Bris stuttered in response, remembering him telling her that he wanted her out of his life. As much as she wanted to press the issue and ask him whether it's her fault, she decided against it, and said instead, "Bye, Delta. Have a nice day…"  
"Bye." Axl responded before instantly hanging up.

Axl heaved a long sigh and placed his phone back on the bedside table before he rolled over.

"Hey, Delta?" Epsilon spoke.  
"What?" Axl replied, his mental voice a low growl.  
"So, about that place we're going to…" Epsilon brought up the topic.  
"Oh yeah, right." Axl responded, perking back up slightly. "What about it?"

Epsilon opened Axl's memory files to show him the memory Epsilon got last night when he looked up the location of the coordinates.

"That's…that's pollution zone. And no one's taking care of it anymore, how are we gonna get there?" Axl remarked, bewildered.  
"Somehow, Delta." Epsilon replied. "We've gotta get there. You know, buy or rent a speedboat or something, or a little plane. Or if we can't, we can just copy some reploid and zoom off there, right?"  
"It's quite a long way away, though…do you mind if we take it slow? Not rushing, or anything? I know it's important, even more to me than you, but…well, we gotta smell the flowers." Axl said.  
"You're right. Who knows, we might discover something that will prove to be useful."

Just as Epsilon replied, both of them were shocked again by the sound of Axl's ringtone. The irritated Axl snatched his phone from the bedside table, quickly pressing answer without looking at the screen.

A loud, annoyed groaning "Yeeeeeeeeeees?" was his first answer.  
"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees?" the person from the other end of the line imitated Axl. Hearing his voice, Axl's eyes bulged. "Top of the morning to you, Axl, you little shit! How are you doing?"  
"Zero? H-hey…" Axl stuttered out, regretting what he had said, even though the consequence wasn't much.  
Zero laughed. "Man, I miss you already. X didn't eat very well this morning. I had to babysit him. 'Smuch I wanna talk to you first, he's already staring at my phone like an owl."  
"Ooookay…" Axl said as he heard the sound of Zero passing the phone to X.  
"Hey, Axl! How are you doing? How are you feeling?" X asked, his voice sounding like a mother.  
"Hahah. I kind of just woke up. Eat your breakfast, X." Axl replied.  
"I finished my food already, thank you very much. And you're one to talk. It's 10 AM already! Get some in your system, will you?" X lightly scolded, pouting. "How was your day yesterday?" X continued, with a much happier tone.  
"It was great. I get to see new things. Have you heard of Force Metal?" Axl cheerfully said.

"Force Metal…I've seen it in the news before, but I never really looked into it. What about it?" X asked.  
"It's some kind of potent metal. Just coming near the ores hurt really bad. But they've been saying that it can be some kind of game-changer." Axl answered.  
"Axl, are you okay?" X worriedly asked. "You should get your body checked."  
"I'm fine, X. It was just feeling pain when I was close to them. It hurt like hell, but eh, that's about it." Axl said.  
"Well, alright then. Just promise me you'll be okay when we see each other someday. Okay?" was X's cheerful response.  
"Of course. I'll take good care of myself. You take care, okay?" Axl responded.  
"Okay, bye—" X was about to say goodbye until Zero interrupted him.

"Give me the phone." Zero grumbled as he pried the phone away from X's hands. "So, Axl, any plans? Or are you just drifting away like tumbleweed?" he snickered.  
"Tumbleweed, pfft." Axl scoffed. "No, I have a destination already." he answered.  
"Ooooh, where, where?" Zero badgered.  
"Hey, what are you going to do with that info?" Axl teased.  
"None of your business." Zero responded with a smirk on his face.  
"Well, it's a secret whether you're telling me or not." Axl cackled. "Sorry."  
"Asshole." Zero grumbled. "Ah well, it's not like you're staying put in one place. Right?"  
"Yeah. By the time you find the time to go there, I might've found a new destination already." Axl chirped.  
"Alright…although we should meet again. Anyways, we're going off for morning patrol, so, talk to you later?" Zero said.  
"Yeah. Bye, Zee." Axl ended the conversation.


	18. Don't Take My Sunshine Away

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 18: Don't Take My Sunshine Away**

"Who said that he was going to smell the flowers first?" Epsilon teased.  
"Shut up." Axl snorted, mentally at Epsilon, and physically at the dust.

The curiosity that had sparked after Epsilon told him about the 21-year-old archive having eaten away at him, Axl decided to check out of the hotel in the morning, and bought an old motorboat for cheap. He copied a fish mechaniloid to swim to Goodsprings, resting on the boat whenever he's out of energy. When he reached land, he just kept dashing.

When he had arrived, the land around Goodsprings was empty and full of dust. Some weeds and inedible plants had grown, as a result of the abandoned terraforming project and nature continuing where the reploids had left off. But the land was still hot and dusty. The dust had made it too uncomfortable for Axl to proceed with normal clothing, so he transformed into his armour.

"God damn, it sure reminds me of when Red Alert brought me back to Raina Light…" Axl said as he coughed. "This dust isn't going easy on my eyes."  
"We're getting close, Delta, don't worry." Epsilon assured as he looked at Axl's internal GPS system. It had turned out that they had arrived. "Wait, we're here already." Epsilon continued when he saw it.  
"If we're here already, then why isn't there anything?" Axl questioned, as he zoomed in the GPS system to see if he needs to move a little more to get to the exact dot.

He circled around to look for something, even bending down and wiping some dust off the ground with his hands to see if something was hidden by all the dust.

"Wait…what is this?" Axl remarked when his fingertips felt something smooth—very much unlike the rough ground he had been touching. "It felt like metal…" he commented.  
"Delta, I think you've hit the spot." Epsilon remarked, giddy. Axl continued to wipe the dust around that spot, and uncovered a large metal door.

"Woo, must be this. But I didn't find anything to input a password or scan a fingerprint with." Axl whistled.  
"Maybe it's meant to be opened from the inside?" Epsilon remarked.  
"That's bullshit." Axl cackled. "If someone's going out of this place to, what, get groceries or something, they would have to open it from the outside."  
"Maybe this is a private place that can only be opened with a remote or something? Either way, I don't think we can open it through nonviolent means. We don't have whatever password for this thing, and reploids have no fingerprints." Epsilon argued.  
"True, true." Axl agreed as he readied his foot, and turned off his auditory sensors.

He quickly stomped on the door hard several times and finally punched a hole through the hard metal door.

"Just like Red…" he chuckled before copying a bombee—a bee mechaniloid small enough to fly through the hole he had made. After he was inside, he reverted to see a dark tunnel, and he light up the crystals on his helmet and chest armour. The blue light revealed old bloody reploid boot prints.

"Oh my god." Axl blurted out. "Fuck my life."  
"Well, somebody had their life fucked before you, Delta, so let's find out." Epsilon remarked.

As they made their way through the tunnel, there was more and more blood—the bloody boot prints got thicker as well. The door at the end of the tunnel was no longer a door—it had been destroyed.

"Shit went down in here." Axl heaved a big sigh as he looked at the dark interior, lit only by the lights of his crystal, and, apparently, another source of light, white instead of blue.  
"Let's go to the source of the light first, Delta? It seems this place still has got working solar panels. But for some reason everything except that room is all dark." Epsilon suggested.  
"Well, I know where to go from here." Axl said as he looked down to see even thicker bloody boot prints, and he looked up to see even more traces of blood. "Let's just…follow this."

As they walked, the blood got thicker and they started to smell an unappealing stench. They walked on to find out that…

"Oh, my fucking—argh!" Axl cursed at what he had seen until he flinched, grabbing the top of his head.  
"Delta, what's wrong?" Epsilon cried out.

The sight of a decomposed corpse with dried faeces around its buttocks area had apparently caused a reaction in Axl's head, more than just disgust.

"I think…I think something…that archive. I think this place is related to my memories. God damn, why does my childhood have to be connected to so many gross shit, and why do human bodies excrete even after they die?" Axl ranted.  
"The former, I don't have the answer. The latter, I think it's just biology." Epsilon flatly stated to keep the situation calm. "Let's go, Delta…I think we'll be seeing more of this."

True to Epsilon's statement, the closer they walked to the light, the more corpses they saw. At last, they finally arrived to the source of the light—an opened entrance to a small, brightly-lit chamber with a few corpses inside. When Axl laid his eyes on that chamber, he tensed and grunted as he held his head.

"Delta!" Epsilon cried out as he tried to take over as the dominant consciousness to keep Axl's body standing, only to be put in a trance, a sensation he remembers—memories.

Axl's mind's eye started seeing a struggle—Red Alert was there, pinning scientists and engineers against the wall and floor. His mind's eye saw that he was standing beside who seems to be the leader—a male with blue eyes and short blond hair.

"Phi…Philip Wily?" Epsilon stammered out in the trance as he remembered the face he had seen soon before they left the hotel.

"Alright, Philip." Red addressed Phi as he walked towards him. "If you'll give me that reploid, we'll let you go and nobody gets hurt."  
"What do you want?" Phi growled at Red. "You're not taking Delta from me!"  
"Oh, no, I don't want anything. It's my client who does. Nothing personal. Just business." Red answered. "So, are you giving him to us, or not?"

Philip started laughing maniacally, and Axl felt himself tense beside Philip. And then, he felt the sudden sensation of being roughly pulled aside before feeling the coldness of metal on his temple.

"Who gave you the right to him?" Philip roared, having pointed a gun at Axl's temple. "I created him, I can also destroy him! I won't let anyone else take—"

Philip's ranting was interrupted by Red slamming the tip of his scythe down Philip's head, killing him instantly. Philip's body went limp and fell with a thud, the gun he had intended to shoot Axl with clattering just beside the trembling Axl's foot.

"I'm sorry this had to happen to you." Anteator sadly spoke to Axl as he walked towards him. "You won't have to remember this anymore. I'll be formatting all this, and you'll start new."

Axl felt himself nodding with a sob, still trembling as Anteator plugged a link cable to him. He felt calmer and calmer as his automatic data security system suppressed his data into an archive to fight Anteator's attempts to delete them, but that calmness and deletion attempt was interrupted by a crash. And then, everything went black.

After the blackness, Epsilon snapped back into full consciousness, no longer feeling the trance. Axl caught his breath after the memory flash stopped, and he looked around to find Phi Wily's corpse—distinguishable by the gun lying close to the corpse's hand.

Axl narrowed his eyes in anger, spat on his creator's corpse and crushed the gun with one stomp, before crushing Phi's decomposed head.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Well, there you have it. So, what do you think? Axl got his memories back, and it wasn't pretty...nothing much else to say here, considering everything is self-explanatory._


	19. Tomorrow is a New Day

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 19: Tomorrow is a New Day**

Axl sighed as he lifted a chair that had been overturned, putting it back into place for him to sit. He sat and leaned back, staring at the ceiling as he thought.

"We're…not brothers, aren't we?" Epsilon noted. "I can say for sure that Laurentia Myst created me, and you…you were created by Philip Wily. THE Philip Wily."  
Axl laughed at the revelation. "Laurentia's a fuckin' liar." he stated. "I can't believe I believed her, but…I did. The world did…" he sighed. "I was such a fool."  
"Don't beat yourself over it, Delta. Anyways, I…I just…we're not brothers." Epsilon said, disheartened.  
"Who gives a fuck now, Epsilon?" Axl responded, a small smile on his face. "Brothers or not brothers, you're closest to me than anyone else in the world. Well, literally, even. But either way, it doesn't matter anymore. You're my favourite person."

Epsilon would've blushed if he had a body of his own. "That's…that's the first time I've ever heard someone say that."  
"Because you barely had any social interaction back at Jakob." Axl remarked. "But anyways, it doesn't matter. You're still gonna stay on my head, and everything's gonna be as normal after this."  
"What are we going to do now, Delta? This place is giving me bad vibes. And are you gonna tell the world about the whole truth?" Epsilon questioned.

Axl's smile disappeared and he tensed a bit as he sat upright to look at Phi's desecrated corpse again, his eyes narrowed.

"He doesn't deserve it." Axl growled. "After how he treated me, I think he deserves to stay unknown in this cold, sad place."  
"You're letting Laurentia profit from her lies, Delta?" Epsilon growled back.  
"Let a corpse profit, or another corpse profit, you say?" Axl defended himself. "Don't be ridiculous. Laurentia committed suicide just before we left to swim all the way here. Right?"  
Epsilon would've swallowed if he had a body of his own. It had been big news when they were on the way to the ocean—in fact, it was what halted their journey. People all over where they had walked kept approaching Axl to give their condolences. Axl and Epsilon both decided to forget going through roads to avoid the attention, in the end.

"But are we going to let the world believe all these lies, Delta?" Epsilon questioned.  
"Who gives a shit?" Axl sighed. "Besides, we'd be ruining the lives of Laurentia's family, whether they knew she was lying or not. Is it really worth it? Also, most of all, I'm not letting Phi win."  
Epsilon was about to argue again until he realized that the recovery of Axl's memories meant that Axl would be scanned, and he would be found and extracted out. Axl read Epsilon's thoughts, and remarked: "See? Better for everything to stay this way."

"But are we gonna stay here, Delta? I hate this place." Epsilon whined.  
"Red Alert already took away what Phi had on me, but they might've missed a few things. He must've kept a few secrets all to himself."

Walking around and inspecting Phi Wily's abandoned laboratory—Axl's birthplace, they looked around room after room, until they stopped at a dark, messy, strangely cosy room. Axl flinched again and Epsilon felt the trance signifying a memory flashback when they noticed a book lying on the bed in the room.

"So, Anteator, anything useful?" Red had asked Anteator, who was sitting on the bed, flipping through the pages of the book.  
"Phi's personal journal. Nothing really useful aside from what we had already gotten from downloading the main computer's data." Anteator reported, putting the book down.  
"Phi? Who's Phi?" Axl had asked, tilting his head in curiosity.  
Crowrang chuckled sadly to himself before ruffling Axl's hair. "Nobody. Nobody you should remember, Kid." he answered.

The first thing Axl did after he felt the flashback stopping was to swipe the book away before plopping down on the bed.

Flipping the pages, he found one page with a newspaper clipping taped to it: "Raina Light: 'Physical humanization is good, but in the end it's still nothing compared to viruses.'"

"What the hell, it's KIDO Journal again! That newspaper company sure is hardy for staying around even since before Eurasia…" Axl remarked when he looked down to read the newspaper clipping.

"So this must be what gave Raina Light the idea to create Bris, right? Uploading a human consciousness into a reploid. She must've tried to one-up Phi for humanizing reploids." Epsilon noted.

"True, true. Red Alert's client…wait. Raina hired Red Alert, and in here, she was clearly dissing what Phi had created. They're…enemies?" Axl said as he remembered when Epsilon told him what he had read about Phi from the magazine—Philip Wily was the one who humanized reploids, enabling them to eat, drink, sleep and even have sex. Except the difference was, among other things, that reploids don't excrete because their energy converter turns everything ingested as food into energy. And, obviously, reploids can't get pregnant like humans.

Axl flipped the pages even more to find evidence that confirmed his hypothesis as true: Rantings condemning and insulting Raina Light, and it progresses into Philip deciding to recreate his ancestor—Dr. Albert Wily—'s creation, the Copy Robot, in reploid form. The story further detailed Phi's failures until he finally perfected the prototype copy chip, and the end of that page read:

"After three failures, finally this fourth reploid will show the world, and Raina, who really is boss! I'm not going to hold back, and I'm going to put everything I have in Delta. I can't build a muscular, big reploid because I lost a lot of money due to Alpha, Beta and Gamma's failures, but at least I can make SOMETHING big for him…a penis may be small, but god damn if it isn't significant!"

Axl shrieked as he read those words and threw the journal away before he rolled on the bed, the book hitting the wall before the floor. Epsilon proceeded to shriek laughing inside Axl's head.

"So that's why your dick is so big!" Epsilon remarked as he continued to laugh.  
"I feel violated! Phi, you sick, fucking goddamn pervert!" Axl whined, rolling on the bed.  
"Well, at least he gave you something good, right? Even if it wasn't sexual…he probably had a small pecker and wanted to compensate…" Epsilon commented again, still laughing.  
"I fucking hate you, Epsilon." Axl cackled. "I hate you so much…"

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** so um i...i told you delta's dick is going to be kind of significant. right? right? ok._


	20. There is a Hole

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 20: There is a Hole**

X sat down on the chair in front of Zero's desk with a sigh. After a mission that day, he couldn't take a break, and had to crash to Zero's room to suppress the uneasiness in his heart.

"It's been two weeks, hasn't it?" Zero responded to X.  
"I know, I know…I feel lame." X replied. "I can't believe how different maverick hunting feels like now that Axl's gone. It just…it doesn't feel the same anymore."  
"I can't blame you, X. He was here for eleven years, and then out of the blue he just up and left." Zero sighed, rolling over on his bed, to face the wall instead of X. "But do you think he'd like it if you keep on feeling like this?"

X groaned. "I know, Zero. I know. I know that he was always the one encouraging us to continue fighting, he was the one picking us up when we're down over our duties, especially me, and he wouldn't want us reverting to our frowny selves after he's gone, but…he's our best friend, too, besides each other." X explained. "We used to almost always go on missions together for like, eight years since he joined the 17th Elite Unit. So it's just…"

X sighed and buried his face into his hands.

"I wanna call him, Zero…" he whined.

"He's been out of signal zone for almost a week, X. I've tried." Zero answered.  
"He's not dead, isn't he?" X stammered out.  
"If I wasn't so exhausted from today's mission, X, I'd punch you in the face for saying that. He's an S-class like us!" Zero scolded him, sitting up on his bed.  
"But still! I can't help but be worried. Do you know how scared I was when I tried calling him, too?" X argued.

X's ringtone stunned the two of them into silence for a second until X rummaged into his pocket to pull out his phone. He smiled when he saw the screen: Axl had called.

"Hello, Axl?" X answered the call, his voice far cheerier than it was.  
"Hey, X. How you doing?" Axl replied.  
"Oh, I'm fine—" X lied, only to be cut off by Zero chiming in.  
"No, he's lying." Zero laughed, having gotten off his bed to speak to Axl. "You little shit. What was it you were doing in a faraway land without mobile phone signal?"  
"Searching for treasure." Axl joked—but maybe, it was only half a joke from his perspective alone.  
"Asshole." Zero responded. "If you're gonna be out of touch for a while, at least tell us, will you? X was being a baby about it."

"Aaaaugh! Ow!" Zero cried out in pain, for his last sentence earned him a smack on the face and a shove from X. "Fuck you, X." he cursed with a laugh. X blew him a raspberry in response. Axl just laughed at their antics.

"Anyways, what are you doing? Where are you now?" X asked.  
"Oh, just waiting for my food. I'm eating out at Atori." Axl said.  
"Atori? Axl, you're eating there again and you're not even telling us?" Zero questioned, remembering their last meal together in that restaurant.  
"Whoa, chill." Axl cackled. "It's not the big one we ate at. It's one of its branches, far away from HQ." he explained.  
"Oh, alright then." Zero sheepishly replied. X just giggled at him.  
"Fuck you, X." Zero cursed at X again.  
"Fuck you, X." Axl mimicked Zero, giggling.  
"Hey!" X whined. "You're ganging up on me!"  
It was Zero's turn to laugh.

"Well, there's the waitress with my order, so I'll hang up now, yeah? Talk to you guys later." Axl replied.  
"Sure, Axl. Talk to you again sometime." X responded before Axl hung up.

"Well, at least he called." Zero remarked, plopping down on his bed. "That felt good. Honestly, I was worried that he might just…I don't know, ditch us?"  
"Zero, if I'm not in such a good mood right now, I'd hit you with this chair." X half-joked. "Why the hell would you think so?"  
"I don't know, I mean…it's not logical for him to just leave and forget us, right? But at the same time I just have this nagging feeling that he's ditching the life of a maverick hunter, including anyone else affiliated with the Hunters. I mean, come on. He didn't even tell us until the day before he left!" Zero ranted.  
"Zee, come on." X responded. "I don't think so. You know he was here for 11 years and of course you'd have stuff piling up in your room. He probably had to sign papers for everything."  
"And he didn't even think of passing on some of his stuff to us?" Zero questioned.  
"Zero, look at your fucking room, and tell me if he'd think so." X argued.

Zero's room, while not exactly a pig pen, nor messy in the first place, had gotten cramped. In addition to a bookshelf, there was a big, cramped shelf filled with trophies and memorabilia from his missions. His certificates of accomplishments were displayed on top of the shelf: The most noticeable one being the certificate he had obtained after his role of temporary commander of the Maverick Hunters right after Sigma rebelled.  
The desk itself had little free room—Zero has a big personal computer, and a few stray sheets of paper were scattered on the desk: Personal to-do lists, grocery shopping lists, post-it notes related to his job, and his own personal haikus.  
Zero's bed also had barely any room for himself, as he always preferred a small bed, and a gigantic teddy bear Iris had given him took up considerable amount of room.  
Having gotten busy from regular missions, Zero had little time to do his laundry properly. His clothes are properly washed and dried, but the clothes that was in the basket stayed there until the next laundry day, and he tends to just rummage from the pile instead of opening his big wardrobe.

Zero blinked after he looked around the room, and then at X, who had gotten off the chair to stand up in front of him, arms folded. Zero's response was to smile a crooked smile, before gingerly grabbing the big teddy bear, holding it in front of his face like a shield.

"Forgive me, X-sensei. Moushiwake gozaimasen." Zero apologized twice—once in English, once more in Japanese—and "played" with the teddy bear, making it as if the teddy bear was bowing in apology.  
X just chuckled, before bursting out into laughter.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** This time, more zooming in on X and Zero's perspective. I just had to spoof at Zero's attacks being named with Japanese names, compared to everyone else's English names. Also, there were Kamen Rider Ryuki references in chapters 19 and 20, and I dedicate them to Hannaji/Moonchan._


	21. That You Left Behind

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 21: That You Left Behind**

After the meal Axl had had to celebrate the return of his memories, he settled down in a hotel near the restaurant, and after taking a shower, lay on the bed to relax as more of the memories returned to him.

"That's it! That's iiiiiiiiiiit!" Philip had yelled excitedly—like a man who had watched his favourite football team win—when he witnessed Axl's successful transformation.  
"What is it?" Axl asked, still in his transformed state, tilting his head.  
"You're a success, Delta, a success." Philip said. "You may not understand what it means yet, but it'll come to you. I just need to run a few more tests and maybe improve some things, but overall, your copy chip's good. You can revert now."  
"Oh. Okay." Axl responded before reverting, a small smile in his face. "You're right that I don't understand anything yet, but all this sounds like a good thing."  
"Yes. Yes, it is." Philip replied, ruffling Axl's hair. "Our lives are going to change, and we're going to like it."

Axl felt a teardrop leave his eye as he saw the memories. On one hand, Philip wasn't that much of a piece of shit, but on the other hand, Philip had almost killed him if Red didn't stop him.

"What am—what was I to you, Phi?" Axl muttered.  
Epsilon wanted to respond, telling Axl that it doesn't matter anymore because he's here, but Epsilon doesn't have that confidence. Phi is his creator, after all, and obviously, he's a significant person to Axl.

"H-hello? Professor?" Epsilon—Lumine at the time, had tried to call Laurentia from Jakob.  
"Oh, Lumine, is it?" Laurentia answered, with a cheerful, yet strained tone. "What is it?"  
"Ah, yeah. Do you think you can spare some time to talk?" Lumine asked, trying to keep the anxiety away from his voice.  
"Aren't you supposed to be working?" Laurentia questioned.  
Lumine's body went from tense to limp. He heaved a huge sigh and roughly hung up.

It took him all he had to prevent himself from throwing the stationary phone out of the window, since not only he would be charged for property damage, it was also his only method of communicating with literally anyone else—no worker at Jakob was allowed to have a mobile phone.

"Epsilon." Axl said, interrupting Epsilon's own flashback session. "I'm sorry."  
"What is there to be sorry for?" Epsilon asked. "You didn't do anything."  
"I…I brought back horrible memories of your own, didn't I?" Axl said.  
"Hahah, it was my own fault for flashbacking." Epsilon replied. "Don't be sorry."

"Let's change the topic?" Axl offered.  
"Sounds good." Epsilon replied. "Actually, I've been wondering…I've been kind of faceless for this past year, right? Ever since I got into your head?"  
"Mmhmm. So, you want a face? A mental image for yourself?" Axl guessed.  
"Yeah…a very special one." Epsilon responded before manifesting as a mental image of Axl, just with his colours: White, purple, light blue, green and yellow.

Axl almost fell out of his bed when he saw that manifestation.

"Epsilon. What the fuck?" he blurted out, blushing.  
"You're cute. I like your face." Epsilon giggled.  
"What the flying f-fuck are you talking about, you piece of shit?" Axl stammered out, rolling over to cover his face with the pillow.  
"What, you don't like it?" Epsilon asked.  
"I-I do, I just…why?" Axl stuttered.  
"I told you. I like your face. Because you're cute." Epsilon repeated.

Axl just snorted and screamed into his pillow.

"I hate you so fucking much." he whined.  
"I love you too." Epsilon cackled. "So, if you're Axl, I'm White Axl?"  
"Pffffffffffft." Axl snorted. "True, true, just…take that scar off your—my face—argh. Your face. Alright? You weren't the one who got branded."  
"Oh, alright. Sorry." Epsilon responded, making the scar on his "face" fade away. "Better now?"  
"Much better, thanks." Axl replied, smiling. "It's also another way to differentiate between us, besides the colours. And the voices, too."

Axl rolled over on the bed and sighed. "Sometimes I wonder what would happen if you have a body of your own…have you ever thought about it?"  
"Kind of, yeah." Epsilon replied. "But I don't know, I just feel cosy in here, in your head. I feel like I always have someone with me. I'll never be lonely."  
Axl bit his lip as he remembered Epsilon's memory flash of Laurentia, which he had read. "So you weren't any different from me?" Axl asked.  
"You saw it, huh?" Epsilon remarked, a sad chuckle following. "Yeah, Laurentia was never a mother to me, either." he continued. "But still, I don't know why, even though I don't care all that much, I still feel this sadness coming from knowing that someone you know had died."

Axl's response was to get off the bed and take a complimentary newspaper from one of the tables. "Maybe reading up will make you feel better?" Axl offered, seeing that the news of Laurentia Myst's suicide filled the front most pages.  
"Maybe. Maybe it'll give me some closure." Epsilon replied.

"Calvin Myst Talks About his Mother's Suicide

KIDO Journal – It has been a week since Laurentia Myst's suicide and the tragedy had taken the world of robotics by storm. People everywhere are grieving for the "Mother of Neo Robotics" who had sadly left this world. We had tried to approach her first two creations, Maverick Hunter Bris and former maverick hunter Axl, but both had declined to comment. Her son Calvin Myst had also declined to comment until now.  
He had given us the privilege of an exclusive interview between him and our lead reporter Momoko Shimada.

Momoko: 'So, it's nice to see you here, Mr. Myst. I'm Momoko Shimada, from KIDO Journal. Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to speak to you.'  
Calvin: 'You're very welcome, Ms. Shimada.'  
Momoko: 'How would you describe your late mother, Mrs. Laurentia Myst?"  
Calvin: 'She was a good mother to me and my siblings, but at the same time, while we felt like we knew her, she was always a bit secretive. Looking back at the time I spent with her, now I'm wondering whether I knew her at all.'  
Momoko: 'She was a good person regardless, and she changed the world with her creations.'  
Calvin: 'You're right…and I had always wanted to follow her path, but she had always forbidden me from doing so every time. She always told me: 'No, Calvin, you're not going into robotics, alright?' or anything like that. Once it got us into a big fight, but in the end I just relented. That's how I got into running Myst Robotics as CFO. It's the closest I could get.'  
Momoko: 'What about your other siblings?'  
Calvin: 'My younger sister Esther was always a rebellious one, so while she attended school and never stood out, she secretly honed her robotics skills. She told me and my older sister Ursula to keep it a secret, and we did. After my mother's passing, she's planning to set up her own business under the Myst Robotics name, as an artisan roboticist dabbling in custom-made reploids.  
As for Ursula, she always preferred the simple life. Being the eldest child of the Myst family, she was showered with a lot of expectations. She wanted away from all that, and away from the spotlight as well. This is the only thing she had let me to tell the world, so I hope everyone can understand.'  
Momoko: 'I see, I see. I wish you and your siblings all the best. Condolences on your mother's passing. If I may ask, anything you know about it?'  
Calvin: 'It took the whole Myst family by surprise. All of us never expected that. Some of us speculated that she must be hiding something, and that something was what caused her suicide. We tried looking around in order to give ourselves closure, but we never found anything. Mother burned her journal soon before the suicide, so we had decided to respect her decision and just not pry about it.'  
Momoko: 'Calvin, I'm so sorry.'  
Calvin: 'It's fine. I understand how everyone wanted to know. We wanted to know too, but this was the answer that my mother had given us, and I hope she rests in peace.'

Laurentia Myst always remained a mystery, even in death. However, regardless of that fact, the world will mourn the loss of one of the brightest minds of this age, who had brought us many wonderful things through the New-Gen Reploids. Rest in peace, Laurentia Myst. You will be missed."

"Heh." Epsilon chuckled. "In the end all her lying bit her in the ass, didn't it?"  
"Most likely. I can't imagine living on stolen riches." Axl replied. "But still, I kind of felt bad for her. She must've been young and stupid when she made the decision; she didn't think it through. But I don't regret any of this. If she didn't do it, we wouldn't have met."  
"Hehe, true, true. While my life in Jakob was hell, and I became an asshole myself, I just…I don't know, I don't care anymore. In the end, it led to this, so I'm not complaining." Epsilon added. "Being with you feels great."

"Hey, Delta…" Epsilon changed the topic. "Thinking about this; if you die, will I die with you too?"  
"How morbid." Axl remarked. "But why do you ask?"  
"I don't know, it's just…from what we just read, I suppose. I don't want to be apart from you, either." Epsilon replied. "If someone kills you and I'm left alone, even if I can use your body, still, I just…I can't imagine life without you anymore."  
"Aww." Axl responded. "It's fine, Epsilon. I promise we'll be sticking together. Yeah?"  
"Yeah. Thanks a lot." Epsilon said, his mental avatar smiling.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Guess who got a relationship upgrade of sorts? Anyways, every time KIDO Journal appears, there is always a Kamen Rider Ryuki reference. As a last note, to relorelo, my fellow Indonesian, I whisper (publicly) to you: "corn tall." _


	22. The World Continues to Spin

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 22: The World Continues to Spin**

"It's been five years since I visited that Force Metal beach, and now this happens." Axl remarked after he finished reading a newspaper article:

"Giga City Officially Open!

KIDO Journal – After four long years of construction, Giga City, the artificial island built for the purpose of Force Metal development, was finally fully finished.

'The development was so fast,' said Mira K. Nalla, one of the first residents of Giga City, 'I came here when it was still being developed, to work. Now it has malls, schools and everything. I can finally convince my family to move here now.'

This development was owed to Force Metal researcher Miyu Tezuka, who invented the neutralizer of Force Metal's negative effects and the Force Metal amount formula to calculate the maximum safe Force Metal corrosion rate for each individual reploid. These allow reploids to use it and enjoy heightened physical and intellectual capabilities and stay sane.

'Giga City was the result of cooperation between both humans and Force Metal-enhanced reploids.' stated Sean Blanc, one of the overseers of the construction of Giga City. 'I believe that this is the direction our future is heading to; the cooperation between man and machine.'

Giga City, young as it is, had already meant so many things to so many people. With new opportunities and new technology being developed there, people from around the world are racing in order to secure a home in Giga City. Lots after lots have been selling out quickly. However, the space that was made available for reploids had been limited.

'It is true that the issues concerning Force Metal were able to be negated, allowing reploids to use it and perform tasks better than we humans do. But in the end, there is nothing that can replace the human race, which can never go maverick upon approaching a hunk of metal.' Sorella Stone, one of the governors of Giga City, noted. 'As in the end, it was humans who invented and developed the Force Metal and made it safe for reploids to use. So we are establishing a quota for reploids to reside in Giga City for that reason. We would like to avoid another maverick outbreak like what happened when the reploids mined the Force Metal for the first time.'

As of now, the Giga City government had cemented the citizen and permanent resident proportions of 1 reploid for every 4 humans. For reploids who intend to work in Giga City but are unable to get Giga City citizenship or PR passes, express airbus stations have been provided and more are still being built.

'It is of utmost importance that we provide for both humans and reploids. Giga City is the symbol of human and reploid cooperation and coexistence, and we intend for it to stay that way.' Chief R, the head representative of reploids in Giga City's government had stated, 'So for now we are going to settle with 20 express airbus stations, located all over the world. We don't know what the future will hold, but we'll build more stations if 20 aren't enough.'

The short-term prospects of Giga City will involve mostly mining, smelting and R&D of Force Metal. However, considering how little the explored area of the meteor is, it might be part of the long-term prospects after all, with newer and newer areas of development appearing over time.

'Some critics of Giga City had expressed their concerns that Giga City is doomed to become an abandoned miner city once the meteor is all mined.' Sorella Stone further noted, 'But we'll make sure it won't come to that. By that time, Giga City will have developed competencies of its own, which will ensure its life, even when all the Force Metal has been mined.'

KIDO Journal is cooperating with several real estate companies operating in Giga City. For anyone interested in securing a lot in Giga City, the advertisements are on page 15."

"Well, Delta, interested?" Epsilon asked, remarking at the Giga City property advertisements. "Sounds like a place we should check out. I think we've crawled to all the interesting corners of the world already."

"I don't know, I'm just not feeling it." Axl replied. "It's not a place for reploids. It's a place where humans can put leashes on us to do what they want."

"It does sound like a good place, though. Change doesn't come in a day." Epsilon insisted. "Speaking of change, do you feel any sort of change in you after you left the Hunters?"

"Ehhh…I don't know. I guess I've become happier, I've known a lot more. Why? You think we need to get to some sort of next level again?" Axl asked. "You think I'm stagnating?"

"I don't know. I just…Delta. What do you want in life? Have you figured it out?" Epsilon asked again.

"I…I just want this life to continue. You know, living free without being bossed around save for the little jobs here and there, with you in my head. Why?" Axl replied.

"Don't you have a dream, Delta?" Epsilon pressed.

"Mmm, no. Not a concrete dream. I just want to have a good life. And I can't really define 'good' outside from having a life I'm content with. What's yours?" Axl answered, slightly off-put by Epsilon's sudden barrage of questions.

"It's just…I can't get the drive to try and liberate reploids from low-key slavery out of my head. It's gotten me and everyone affiliated with me killed before, but…it's just…I can never get it out of me. It's like it's my calling in life." Epsilon replied. "And I'm wondering, what might be yours? Have you found it?"

"Calling? A calling? I never found one. Not that I care, I suppose…" Axl stated, even more off-put.

"I guess so…it's your life, after all." Epsilon sighed. "I just can't help but feel that you're missing that. Even after 5 years of not being limited to one establishment."

"And what was it about your calling of wanting to liberate reploids?" Axl noted. "Epsilon, I know you have good intentions and all, but violence and destruction never changed anything. Diplomacy does. You saw how change came gradually, right? Culminating in Giga City?"

Epsilon went silent.

"We'll be fine, Epsilon. Someone's gotta make that change. Maybe it's us, maybe it's not us. Either way, we're just going to be here, doing our best." Axl added.

"You're right…I guess this is just a phase. Last time I was just lucky because you allowed me to continue living in your head. I guess I undervalued my own life." Epsilon huffed out.

"Hey, no one's forcing you to commit violence to make a change. I just said that violence doesn't change anything, didn't I?" Axl said.

"You're right. I might just be overthinking things…" Epsilon sighed.


	23. And Life Goes On

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 23: And Life Continues On**

Having left with no other destination options for a few weeks, Axl and Epsilon finally visited Giga City. At first they marvelled at the new atmosphere, but a few trips around the island showed that, for the most part, Giga City was no different than a typical big city.

"Let's go back, Epsilon." Axl remarked. "It's not so different than anywhere else, minus the odd Force Metal shops."  
"Not even crashing in a hotel to look around the place?" Epsilon questioned.  
"But in the end the hotel's gonna be like any old hotel, right?" Axl replied.  
"Tr—" Epsilon was about to say something, but was cut off when both of them witnessed an unusual scene.

"Help, help!" a reploid cried out in the middle of the road, being surrounded by four other people seemingly brutalizing him, while frightened passers-by watched. "Call the Maverick Hunters!"

Axl quickly turned around, dashed away to the scene and pulled off the people surrounding the armoured reploid. He had pulled off three of them, freeing the reploid's arms, when he saw the fourth person, attempting to carve a piece of crystal-like substance off the reploid's armour with a shiv.

"What the hell are you doing?" Axl cried out, forcefully prying the person away from the reploid, pushing him off hard.  
Soon after he managed that, the three other people attempted to restrain both him and the reploid.  
"You maverick!" one of the three yelled at Axl, pointing at him, her bruised arm exposing her, and possibly, the rest of her group, as humans.

"Go, go, run away!" Axl said to the reploid, who nodded, and, before running away, made a hand gesture to nonverbally ask Axl to follow him, and Axl followed the reploid around Giga City, the reploid seemingly knowing the place more than the average person, and they blended into a crowd after some time spent running around the island.

"Will you be okay?" Axl asked the reploid as he looked at the scratches from the attempted robbery.  
"I'm fine, thanks a lot. I'm gonna have to pay to get these scratches fixed, but it's way better than the alternative." the reploid replied.  
"What happened? What was it they were after?" Axl asked more.  
"That thing they wanted to carve out of me? It's my Force Metal. I don't understand why they'd do that. Force Metal is available for a decent price over here." the reploid sighed.  
"Maybe because it's expensive and rare outside of Giga City?" Axl guessed.  
"The older varieties, no. But the newer varieties, more likely. Maybe they mistook it for a more expensive new variety. Ever since the Force Metal experiments, they've been developing newer and newer varieties." the reploid explained.  
"What Force Metal experiments? Why haven't I heard of this?" Axl questioned.  
"Maybe because it's not really advertised in the papers." the reploid shrugged. "All these new Force Metal varieties didn't come out of thin air." he laughed. "Anyways, I'll see you around. Thanks for saving me." he said as he walked away from Axl.

"This place is more fucked-up than I thought." Axl remarked as he continued to walk to get away from the crowd.  
"Do we stay or leave? There are clearly a few things we don't know about yet. We never really looked closely into the Force Metal, right?" Epsilon replied.

Axl chuckled as his first memory with Force Metal returned to him: When he approached a large stash of pure Force Metal ore and felt great pain as a result, and Epsilon had to help him drag his body away to safety.

"Ahh, the thing gives me bad vibes, is all. But I did stand around an actual piece of Force Metal, the one in that guy. Guess it wouldn't hurt."

Axl looked around, spotting a sign of a Force Metal shop a few distances away and walked towards the shop. When he entered, even though it's only 3 PM, the vendor is already cleaning up the shop.

"Sorry, we're closing. Our goods are sold out already." she apologized.  
"A-ah, I see. Want me to help out?" Axl offered.  
"No, it's okay." she refused with a courteous smile. "But do you want to place an order? The next time the supplies arrive, I can reserve the stuff for you."  
"No, I just…I came here to find out about Force Metal, that's all." Axl replied.  
"Oh, then you can just grab the brochure over there." she said, pointing at the brochure holder near where Axl is standing.  
"Why didn't I see this outside?" Axl questioned as he grabbed the thick brochure. "This one is way more informative." he remarked.  
"These more informative brochures are only available in Force Metal shops. Plus, this one's printed out every week, and today's Monday, right?" the vendor replied.

The reploid vendor walks over to Axl, opens her purse and hands him her business card.  
"If you want to look for me to buy some Force Metal, here's my business card. My name's Jasmine, nice to meet you." she said.

"Oh, okay. Nice to meet you, too." Axl replied, glancing briefly at Jasmine's business card. "Well, I should be leaving soon. Thanks a lot for the help."  
"You're welcome. Have a nice day." Jasmine responded before returning to clean up more, and Axl left her shop.

"Let's see here…" Axl said, putting Jasmine's business card in his pocket and opened up the big, folded brochure to read it.

"Have You Heard? Supra-Force Metal

Supra-Force Metal is a new, more potent variety developed by leading Force Metal researchers Miyu Tezuka and Professor Gaudile by combining large amounts of individual Force Metal pieces. As of now it can be used to power up entire factories or even cities, but both Tezuka and Gaudile are considering the possibility of reploids utilizing Supra-Force Metal. A few critics pointed out the purpose of making a potentially over-powered, expensive reploids in the first place, but who knows? It might just be great for the future."

Flipping back to another side of the brochure, Axl saw an advertisement printed at the back:

"Seeking Volunteers for Supra-Force Metal Experiment!

In-laboratory accommodation and energy charging provided. Tezuka-Gaudile Laboratories will not be liable for any damages experienced by the reploid. Interested reploids are to be screened in the laboratories to determine suitability for the experiment. The address can be seen below…"

"What a bunch of bull." Axl remarked at the experiment. "Why don't they just create their own reploids for the sole purpose of the experiment?"  
"It's probably too expensive for them since they've incurred costs from other…things, in the first place." Epsilon guessed.  
"Either way, I'm not interested. Epsilon, are we leaving?" Axl asked.  
"I thought you were the one who wanted to leave?" Epsilon questioned.  
"All of a sudden…I don't know. I just felt kind of stupid, thinking I know all about the place already. So maybe we should stay. But at the same time, I'm not really feeling this place." Axl answered.  
"Well, I guess we should stay. There really isn't anywhere else new to go to, right?" Epsilon replied.  
"You're right."


	24. With or Without You

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 24: With or Without You**

As they walked around to find a hotel, Axl and Epsilon spotted something in a dark alley: The body of the reploid they had rescued from the attempted robbery. Rushing towards the body, Axl plugged his link cable into the body, and found that somebody else had managed to forcefully extract the Force Metal. The sudden disconnection from the Force Metal, which was so deeply connected to the reploid's nervous system, caused his electronic brain to be formatted.

"We couldn't save him…" Axl sobbed.  
Epsilon would've bitten his lip if he had a body of his own.  
"If we could create a world where reploids won't be oppressed by humans, he would've lived…" Epsilon muttered.  
"Epsilon…don't worry, that world will come soon." Axl tried to assure him.

"And what, we're going to let innocents like him die alone while we wait? That's something I cannot do!" Epsilon yelled at Axl.  
"Then what can we do, Epsilon?" Axl argued back. "I know deaths like these are sad and all, but what can we do? The police is a human-only organization, and Maverick Hunters don't make it their job to rescue reploids from humans! We can't save everyone!"  
"Why are you stuck in your little 'you can't', 'I can't' nonsense?" Epsilon questioned.  
"Because you've gotten yourself killed trying to liberate reploidkind before, Epsilon! You couldn't, and that's the truth!" Axl answered. "Look, I know you're kind, but…I don't want you to die."

"The problem is that unlike you, I'm not afraid of my death." Epsilon lowly replied.  
"What the fuck is your problem? I love you! Why the hell wouldn't I be afraid of you getting hurt, let alone dying?" Axl replied, mentally yelling at him. "Stay close to me, and you can continue to live free, with me!"  
"The question is whether either of us are free, Delta. You're preventing me from trying to restart my calling, and it seems I've prevented you from finding yourself a little more. All these six years together, and all we've found out about you are those memories!" Epsilon argued.  
"What's so bad about it? I'm preventing you from being killed, and I'm happy as I am now." Axl explained.  
"You said that people can change the world through nonviolence, so it's possible for me to at least make a change. And all you've been doing is just traveling around to where I suggest. I must've been just bossing you around, haven't I?" Epsilon continued to argue.  
"So what, you want to leave me?" Axl questioned.  
"To be blunt, yes." Epsilon answered.

Axl tensed and trembled. They've had arguments before, but in the end of the argument, these never happen—Epsilon would never snap to the point he'd say he wants to leave.

"Are you serious, Epsilon?" Axl cackled mirthlessly. "What the fuck would I do without you?"  
"Maybe that's the point." Epsilon stated. "Maybe I'm preventing you from finding yourself, the part of yourself that remains even after you've lost everything but yourself. I'm not helping you develop and you're stagnating again."  
"I don't care about all that, Epsilon. I just want you to stay with me." Axl pleaded, even his real body started sobbing.  
"But I do, Delta. It's more than just what I want to do. These days I've been thinking if I really was just like everyone else, who never really helped you." Epsilon explained. "I'm worried I might have made you stagnate again."  
"Who the hell cares whether I stagnate or not? I don't want to be lonely anymore!" Axl screamed. "Take your words back, right now!"  
"I care, Delta, and I won't take it back, because I love you, too!" Epsilon screamed back. "And see? You're clinging to me. You don't know what you'd do if I'm gone. You don't know yourself, and that's the problem. A problem I must solve by leaving. Maybe that way, we can finally discover ourselves."

"So that's it? You're going to leave again, like everyone else?" Axl snarled.  
"Yes. Because I AM like everyone else, Delta. I'm bad for you. I'm sorry for all this time I spent dragging you around like a pet dog." Epsilon replied in a fairly flat tone to keep his cool.  
"Fine! Just go! Go into this body and do whatever the fuck you want! I'm probably making you stagnate too, so just get the fuck out!" Axl sobbed. "If you die again, I won't be there to bail you out!"

"Goodbye, Delta." Epsilon whispered to Axl as he moved to fill the blank electronic brain in the empty reploid body. Axl sobbed as he felt more and more space being freed from his internal systems.

When the connection was complete, Epsilon rubbed the back of the neck of his new body and plugged off Axl's link cable before getting up.

"Where are you going, Epsilon?" were the first words Axl said physically to him.  
"To the Supra-Force Metal experiment." Epsilon replied, slightly off-put by his new, deeper voice, and gently took the brochure from Axl's hand.  
"You're going to die." Axl sobbed.  
"I don't care." Epsilon replied, restraining himself from sobbing.  
"Well, I don't care, either." Axl said, anger distorting his voice.  
"Good for you." Epsilon responded, before turning away.

"If you start a rebellion again, Epsilon, I'm not going to help you." Axl said.  
"You're free to do so." Epsilon answered, not even looking back or stopping.  
"If you're going to die, I might not find you, you know." Axl said again, louder.  
"That's okay." Epsilon replied, still walking away, his back turned.  
"Alright then, fine." Axl barked at Epsilon, sobbing again. "I fucking hate you, Epsilon. I hate you."  
"It's okay, Delta. I deserve it. I'm sorry I'm just like everyone else." Epsilon said, stopping for a while, before walking away from Axl again when he finished speaking.

Axl ran away to the other direction, refusing to look at his former companion any longer.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Who saw this coming? Who saw this twist coming? I thought that this would be an un-twist at first, but eh, I don't know about you guys. You'll never play Megaman X: Command Mission the same way ever again. NEVER! HUA HUA HUA HUA HUA HUA HUA! Anyways, at first I planned TViYH to be a series of random drabbles featuring Axl/Delta and Epsilon, but eventually I just had to write their general story. I guess I'll stash the drabbles depicting their relationship and zooming in on it in another fic. For this chapter, I strongly recommend listening to Tsuki Amano's song, NOISE, to set the mood, 'cos the lyrics fit. It's part of Fatal Frame 4's OST.  
_


	25. No Longer One

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 25: No Longer One**

Focus. Keep a calm head. Wear a smile on your face, at least, until you're alone.

Those were the words I kept repeating in my head after I ran away from that alley. Epsilon's gone. And I don't know if he'll walk out of those experiments alive. That shit's potentially harmful, and we're talking Supra-Force Metal—which basically translates to potentially supra-harmful. Fuck, why do I even care anymore?

Throwing my backpack on the hotel bed before flinging off my clothes, I plopped on the bed and wrapped my whole body with a blanket before burying my face into the pillow to sob.

The voice in my head is gone—whenever I feel this shitty, I'd hear Epsilon always telling me, "It's alright, Delta, I'm here." or anything similar. Now I'm all alone, all I can hear is the echoing of those memories. No, Epsilon. You're not here. You're right that you're just like everyone else. You ended up leaving me alone. You ripped my heart apart, just like everybody else.

It started with Bris, who betrayed me and the friendship between us. And then the whole of Red Alert had to die because of Sigma. After that, X and Zero were too close to each other—at least, until I left. Even then, it doesn't feel the same.

…

It appears that I had fallen asleep.

I feel a bit better now—just…my chest still feels tight. I feel a bit dizzy, and it's a bit unnerving, knowing that there's so much free space now that Epsilon's gone. But still, it means I'm all alone. Getting off the bed with a huff, I picked up the pants I had tossed away. I need to know what time it is, and I had left my mobile phone in my pocket…

Wait. This…

I took out my mobile phone, and Jasmine's business card, which I had put into the same pocket.

"If you want to look for me to buy some Force Metal, here's my business card. My name's Jasmine, nice to meet you."  
"These more informative brochures are only available in Force Metal shops."

Jasmine's words echoed in my head as I stared at the business card.

Ah, yeah. I can ask her more about this Force Metal, and why it's been all the rage for the last six years. Sure, I tracked its progression—it was a metal found in a huge meteor which had fallen into the ocean. Reploids had tried mining it, only to experience maverick virus-like symptoms, which even mechaniloids weren't spared. In the end, humans mined the thing and developed it. It was apparently so valuable as a power source to the point a fucking artificial island was built just to develop it. And apparently, valuable enough for Epsilon to leave me over it. Asshole.

Maybe he'll chicken out. Maybe he'll walk out alive. Either way, I'm staying in Giga City until I hear the last of the Supra-Force Metal experiments. If he goes maverick, I'll teach him a lesson only a maverick hunter—err, a former maverick hunter can teach.

It's 6 PM. Hopefully she doesn't mind if I ring her up.

…

…

…

"Hello, how may I help you?" she answered my call.  
"Hi, Jasmine, is it?" I replied. "If you remember me, I was the one who dropped by when you were closing the shop. The one with a big scar on his face."  
"Oh, oh! Yeah, what is it?" she said.  
"Well…considering how early your shop can close, can we meet tomorrow somewhere? I figure that we can talk over dinner—there are a few things I need to ask you about. My treat." I offered. "My name's Axl, by the way."

Saying that felt tough. I sure hope I didn't step on any toes. Socializing is hard…I hope I didn't sound like…like…argh. I don't want to think about it.

"Oh, sure!" came Jasmine's cheery reply. I flinched slightly. I wasn't expecting that. "What time?" she asked.  
"Hmmm…I don't know. 4 PM sounds nice, but I don't know when your next batch is selling out." I answered.  
"4 PM is OK, actually. I know a good restaurant around this area. You're new to Giga City, right? Might as well show you around."  
I laughed. "Hahah, thanks. That's very nice of you. Alright, I'll take you up on that offer."  
"Okay, is there anything else?" Jasmine asked again.  
"No, that's it. Thanks for your time. Have a nice day, see you tomorrow." I ended the conversation.  
"Okay, bye." she replied, before hanging up.

I put the phone down on a desk with a huff before stepping into the shower. This is going to be awkward…but I'm probably the only one feeling awkward. She's probably talked to clients over meals before.

Socializing is hard. Epsilon, why was it always so easy for you?

…

I was glad that I decided to meet Jasmine at 4 PM. I couldn't sleep very well. My eyes hurt from crying in the shower last night, and it made sleeping feel like a bitch. Good thing I could sleep until 1 PM or something, and I still had time to retrace my way back to Jasmine's shop, and I arrived at 3:45 PM. I peeked into the shop from the glass window on the door to see Jasmine typing on her desk—probably accounts.

As if sensing my presence, Jasmine glanced at the door to see my face. She smiled and waved at me.  
"Axl, is it? Come in." she said to me, smiling.  
I nodded and gently opened the door before stepping in. "I hope I didn't arrive too early for comfort." I said to her.  
"No, not at all. I don't mind." she replied.  
"Then what are you doing? Did I interrupt anything important?" I asked, glancing at the tablet she was typing with.  
"Oh, just work I usually do in the morning." she answered as she saved her work and closed the program, before placing the tablet into its case and then, the case into her bag. "I'm ready to go."  
"Okay." I replied, tilting my head a bit. I guess she's used to this…being ready whenever. For a lone merchant, it's really important in order to score business deals and manage your own shop.

Jasmine just giggled before she fished the keys out of her pocket. We stepped out and she locked the shop door behind her.

"So what is it you'd like to talk about?" she asked me, starting a conversation as we walked.  
"About Force Metal. I feel like that there are a lot of things the brochures and newspapers aren't telling me." I replied, going straight to the point to avoid any implications.  
"Ooooh, I see." she responded, a glint in her eyes. I just smiled. It's a chance to market her products, so I can understand that. "But well, I need to know what you already know. Otherwise I might just repeat the stuff you already do know." she requested.  
"Okay, so I know that Force Metal is mined from some meteor that had fallen into the sea about 6 years ago. R&D eventually led it to become the commodity it is now, because it can be used as a power source, in addition to boosting reploids' physical and mental prowess." I summarized what I had learned all these years.  
"So you know the bare bones already." Jasmine remarked.  
"Yeah, and from the brochure I took yesterday, there's this new variety called Supra-Force Metal, and apparently the scientists have started experimenting on it." I muttered, suppressing my sadness as the memories of yesterday returned to me. It's almost been 24 hours since Epsilon left me…

"So you're against Supra-Force Metal experimenting like me, too?" Jasmine commented, a sad look on her face.  
"E-ehh…how do you know?" I blurted out, not expecting that response.  
She giggled softly. "Well, your change in tone of voice gave it away, that's what. Anyways, what are your reasons?" she asked.  
"Well…it's just that…I've approached a huge stash of pure Force Metal ore before, and it really hurt. I had…I had to get a friend to drag me away from there because I couldn't even stand. And now they're thinking of shoving something like that into a reploid, it's just…unthinkable." I explained, suppressing more of those memories of Epsilon helping me that time, and the mental image of what might happen to Epsilon later on.

God damn it, why does he have to be so reckless? He's going to die alone in a mass grave in that cold laboratory, and I know it. Dear god, please let me be wrong, please.

"I know, right?" Jasmine replied. "Honestly, I don't know what they were thinking. Tiny amounts of Force Metal is good, but Supra-Force Metal is something you use to power up a factory, not for individual use."  
"Unless they were making weapons?" I guessed.  
"That's possible—they might want stronger Maverick Hunters to scare criminal mavericks more, but there's got to be a way outside of Force Metal." Jasmine commented.  
"By the way…um." I was about to ask about the dangers she face as a Force Metal vendor, considering what happened with the dearly departed mugging victim from yesterday, but I don't think that's what you discuss with someone you just met.

"Yes, what is it?" Jasmine responded.  
"No…nothing." I replied, laughing at the end.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Zooming in on a minor MMXCM character now. If you don't remember Jasmine, she's the pink-haired, green-armoured reploid who sells you rare Force Metal in Lagrano Ruins. And yes, this chapter is in Axl/Delta's perspective. also, next time, if i ever post a mood song, i'll remember BlueStar Palette's words to put it in the beginning of the chapter. eue_

 _Anyways, PMGR may be in a short hiatus because right now, the scenes of TViYH are flowing around my brain like water and I need to pour them out first. Also, I have three exams coming up starting next Saturday, so that, too, is a factor._


	26. Ripped Apart

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 26: Ripped Apart**

Oh my fucking god. I remembered that when Delta approached the Force Metal ore stash that time, it hurt like an absolute bitch. Now, they're not even using the real hunk of Supra-Force Metal, or even a fragment of it. It's just a piece of smelted-together Force Metal to simulate the erosion and power levels needed for this preliminary experiment.

I caught my breath as I looked around. There were six reploids in this round, including me—only two survived, me, and one other person, being attended to by Professor Gaudile.

"Psyche. Are you okay?" he said to the reploid worriedly.  
"Are you kidding me? I've never been better! Sure, it really hurt at first, but now I feel awesome." he—Psyche, responded. "Sign me up for the next one!" he cheered.  
Prof. Gaudile just chuckled before turning to me. "Your name's Epsilon, right? Are you okay?" he asked.  
"Yeah—my body's aching all over, but I'm alive. So, it counts, I suppose?" I giggled.  
Prof. Gaudile smiled. "I'm glad you survived. If you want to sign out, you're welcome to do so." he said, before glancing at the bodies of dead reploids being dragged away from the room.  
I shook my head. "No, Prof. It's fine. I'm ready for the next round." I replied.  
"Well, you have a lot of time to get ready. We need at least six reploids to advance, so it means more…survivors." Prof. Gaudile responded, stuttering at the end.

Just as he finished speaking, the doorbell rang—the jingle was familiar. The door opened to reveal the next batch of volunteers.

"Wait…where are the other four?" a slightly big reploid with long, fuzzy, Zero-like white hair and a deformed face questioned.  
Prof. Gaudile looked away and sighed. "They perished. If you want to leave now, it's entirely up to you." he smiled sadly at the end.  
"Hell no, I'm not leaving! I'm not gonna die. There are survivors, right? So I can survive, too!" a female, pink-armoured reploid responded, her voice sounding like a general. "Who's with me?" she continued, raising her hand.  
The long-haired reploid nodded slowly before raising his hand after hers.  
"Hohoh, you're right! Someone with my specs won't just die from a hunk of metal!" a big, green-armoured reploid raised his hand.  
"I concur." a blue-armoured, deep-voiced, swallow-based reploid remarked, and raised his hand.

The other two volunteers looked at the four reploids, at me and Psyche, and then at each other.  
"I'm sorry…I don't think I'm ready for this. But can I stay as a lab assistant or something? I don't have anywhere else to go." one of them said.  
"Yeah. Call me a coward all you want, but I don't want to throw my life away in a gamble. You don't know the factors behind the survival yet, do you?" the other asked Prof. Gaudile.  
"You're right. We don't know yet. Anyways, it's fine. I don't know if there are any spots you can fill around here, so you might want to ask the admin staff. I won't judge you for leaving. Your lives are precious and we know that. Goodbye." Prof. Gaudile responded, and the two reploids nodded and waved as they walked away, and the door slid shut behind them.

"Well, since you guys are surviving…" I spoke up to change the atmosphere, "We'll be sticking together through all this, right? Let's get to know each other. My name's Epsilon." I continued, extending a hand for them to shake.

The first one to shake my hand was the big reploid with the thick white hair. "Nice to meet you. I…I lost my memories. It's probably because of what had happened to me…so everyone just calls me Scarface." he introduced himself, his voice a bit hushed, as if he's embarrassed of his own state. Well, there really is no need to.  
"You seem ashamed of yourself for being like this." I remarked, looking him in the eye.  
He said nothing, and hung his head. "I wish I remember my own name." he muttered.  
"There really is nothing to be ashamed about the way you are. I know someone who got scarred really badly, but he got stronger after the ordeal." I responded, keeping a brave face as memories of Delta returned to me. "In fact, you should wear your current identity as a medal of honour. You were strong enough to survive whatever had happened to you. Be proud, Scarface."  
Scarface looked up at me with light in his eyes. He grinned, and nodded. "Thanks. Now I feel more confident I can survive now. I really owe you." he replied, and let go of my hand.

After Scarface, the second one to shake my hand was the reploid in pink armour. "Your name's Epsilon, right? Nice to meet you. I'm Ferham." she replied.  
"Your spirit is admirable. You really fired everyone up." I commented with a laugh.  
"Well, same to you. Scarface was really mopey in the queue back there." she teased, and Scarface, having heard that, moved his lower lip forwards so that it sticks out, in playful annoyance—a gesture that I came to know from eavesdropping on a few Indonesian people as "monyong". Ferham just laughed at him.  
"With this kind of drive, you can go through everything. Keep it up, alright?" I remarked at her.  
"You bet I can. I've gone through a lot of stuff back in the streets. This is just another hurdle I'll be jumping over." she said. "We'll all walk out of here alive!" she cheered.  
I laughed some more, and she let go of my hand.

The third one to shake my hand was the big, green-armoured reploid. "I'm Botos." he introduced himself as he firmly shook my hand.  
"Confident in surviving too, aren't you?" I tried to coax a bit more words out of him.  
"Yep. I didn't come all the way here to die. I came here to walk out stronger." he replied proudly.  
"Your confidence will help you, too." I replied, not knowing what else to comment on since he really didn't give me much—but it's fine. He might not be much of a talker.

I then turned to the last one, the swallow reploid in blue armour, who gently shook my hand. "My name is Mach Jentra. A pleasure to meet you." he introduced himself, his tone of voice gentlemanly.  
"A pleasure to meet you too, Jentra." I chuckled, trying to slightly imitate his tone. "You have a cool head. It's awesome." I remarked.  
"Being calm is a necessary virtue in life, whether it is for yourself or for others. I really appreciate your friendliness—I feel more at home now." he responded.  
"Glad I could be of help." I replied, and he let go of my hand.

Having seen us finish talking, Prof. Gaudile turned to the five of us and spoke. "Well, I'm glad you guys are getting along. So, do you need some more time, or are you ready for the experiment?"

"We've spent wayyyyy too long in the queue already." Ferham remarked.  
"Yes, it's best to just advance forwards. Waiting will just breed more anxiety, and waste the time of the people waiting for our turn to be over." Scarface added.  
Botos and Jentra nodded, having nothing else to say.

"Okay…the four of you, step into the pod. I wish you the best of luck." Prof. Gaudile said, a smile on his face.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** The seeds of the Rebellion Army has been sown, hasn't it? I sure wish the English language has more terms that can keep up with the Indonesian vocabulary and gestures..."monyong" is a hilarious gesture. Anyways, there's nothing much to comment on over here. Moving on..._


	27. Breadcrumb Trail

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 27: Breadcrumb Trail**

In the middle of eating her food, Jasmine suddenly tensed when she saw something behind me. I looked back to see that she was looking at a TV screen mounted on the ceiling behind me, and I tensed as well when I saw it:

There was the weather report, but underneath it was the little bar where they use to display short news: "THE SUPRA-FORCE METAL EXPERIMENTS ADVANCE TOMORROW".

Quickly moving my gaze to another part of the TV, I found KIDO Journal's logo in the program, and quickly looked up the short news, hoping they have more than just that.  
Jasmine just giggled at me. "Enthusiastic, aren't you?"

I just looked up briefly at her and smiled sheepishly before looking back at my mobile phone.

"The Supra-Force Metal Experiments Advance Tomorrow

KIDO Journal – Force Metal researchers Miyu Tezuka and Prof. Gaudile have gathered enough survivors for the preliminary Force Metal experiment, and the second stage of the experiment is expected to continue tomorrow.

'We're still looking for volunteers, just in case something happens or the volunteers we have now do not have the specs required for further experimenting, or if someone wants or needs to be let go.' Prof. Gaudile stated.

However, specs may not be everything it takes to survive the Force Metal infusions.

'Right now we have six survivors of varying specs and backgrounds. Because we've only conducted two experiments so far, we can't tell what the prime factors for survival are.' Tezuka had noted.

KIDO Journal managed to approach one of the volunteers, Dr. Psyche. He is also part of the research team, and he documents what he feels during the experiment.

'At first everything hurts. Really hurts. I don't know what I did, or if I even did anything at all. Maybe I'll find out tomorrow. But when it was finished, I feel terrific! It might be just me, though. One of the other survivors—I think his name was Epsilon, he still felt sore all over when it was done. So maybe specs do play a factor. But no one knows if it's the most important.' Dr. Psyche elaborated.

With the consent of the individual survivors and the permission of Tezuka-Gaudile laboratories, we will announce the names of the experiment survivors periodically. Here are the names of the six survivors:

1\. Dr. Psyche

2\. Epsilon

3\. Scarface

4\. Ferham

5\. Mach Jentra

6\. Botos

All six survivors had decided to advance to the next stage of the experiment. Their future—and ours, will be decided after the experiments tomorrow."

I let out a small, strained chuckle as I hang my head—Epsilon's survived, but he's still being a fucking idiot, and insisted on pressing on forwards. He really isn't afraid of his death, and my consequent heartbreak. But then again, he tried to make sure my heart wouldn't break. It's not that easy, you bastard. It's not that easy.

I felt a teardrop leave my eye—I wiped it. But then, it was followed by more and more teardrops. Please stop. I'm not alone in the hotel room. I'm in a dinner-ish appointment with a shop owner I met just a day ago. This is embarrassing. Maybe Epsilon's right…maybe I'm still the same. I'm not developing. I'm still kicked around by my own feelings, instead of controlling them like a mature person. But I don't want to believe that him leaving me was for the better, because it hurts like shit.

"Axl? Are you okay?" she gently asked me.  
"I don't know…I want to think that I'm okay because the experiments have nothing to do with me whatsoever, but…but…" I stuttered—true, it has nothing to do with me. But…well…  
Jasmine let me sob alone for a while as I struggled to stop—I've done it. I've ruined the atmosphere, haven't I? Before this, everything was normal and we talked about Force Metal like two mentally stable people. And now…  
"It's okay, Axl…just tell me, what makes you feel so strongly about the news today?" Jasmine asked.  
"It's just…they're moving forwards. They're pressing on even though reploids have died in this experiment. All their lives, just…faded away in a flash. I don't know for what end they're doing this, but if it isn't sick, I don't know what is. More reploids are just going to die for this bullshit experiment, and…I just can't stand it." I struggled to tell her the truth, but not the core reason.  
"I know how you feel all too well." Jasmine replied gently. "I actually took part in the earlier Force Metal experiments. My sisters didn't really like it, but I pressed on anyways. I eventually left when one of my fellow volunteers died." Jasmine explained her past.

I tensed. Right. Some of the volunteers might not stick to the experiments forever. They might leave, or be asked to leave. Maybe when they keep on researching, they'll find out that Epsilon is not fit to continue, then he'll leave. If I stay here, I can still yank him out of here, and we can be together again. But how do I stay here given the strict reploid quota?

"Excuse me—" I said, looking back up at Jasmine as I wiped my tears. "You said you have sisters?" I asked.  
"Yes. Their names are Cumin and Saffron. Cumin runs a weapon shop, and Saffron runs a general store. Why do you ask?" she replied.  
"So that's why no one's helping you out at the store. Can I work as your shop assistant? I bet your shop is always busy. Right?" I requested—if I'm getting a job here, this is the best bet. I can get the most current news on Force Metal this way.  
"Wow, good timing. I've been looking for help, but reploids are registering for more high-end jobs. This job pays way better than they think, though." Jasmine sighed in relief.  
"Great. This is a win-win for us. By the way, have you ever been worried about security issues? I…I've seen someone who got mugged for his Force Metal…" I asked.  
"Yeah. Even now I carry a gun that Cumin made for me herself…" Jasmine sighed. "Are you…"  
"No, I'm not afraid. I don't have to. Do you know about the S-class maverick hunter who retired six years ago?" I responded, hoping she'd get it before I have to explain.

Jasmine paused, as if trying to remember. After a few seconds, she started tensing and her eyes bulged.

"You…you…" she stuttered out, her expression looking like as if she's seen a ghost.  
I chuckled. "Former maverick hunter Axl, nice to meet you."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** This chapter feels like a gigantic relief after the past three chapters. Anyways, moving on..._


	28. Inside the Gingerbread House

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 28: Inside the Gingerbread House**

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Whenever I write Epsilon's point-of-view chapters, I always find myself listening to Giga-P and Reol's song, Drop Pop Candy. When I looked for the lyrics, they fit so, so much, especially in Epsilon's perspective, who is way more optimistic that he can meet Axl/Delta again. So cute..._

* * *

I was able to tell the reporter from KIDO Journal that I survived—and consequently, Delta will know as well. As bad as I am for him, I still love him more than anyone else in the world. He deserves to know, whether he cares or not. I want to think that he still does care, but it would probably be selfish of me—I ripped him apart just to get here. Well, it's fine if he doesn't forgive me. I just hope he finds what he wants in life.

"Say, you guys." Ferham broke the silence from her bunk. "Let's talk about ourselves?"  
"Don't expect anything much from me, though. I just drifted around like a forgotten plastic bag after I lost my memories." Scarface replied.  
Mach Jentra stayed silent, and so did Botos.  
"What about we ask little, impersonal questions about each other?" I offered, hoping for the awkwardness to fade away.  
"True, true…that would be best." Jentra remarked.  
"Who's starting?" Botos asked.

"Well…I was the one who suggested it, so I'm just gonna start. Scarface, can you tell us about your big bush of hair?" Ferham said.  
All of us just laugh as we look at Scarface—who simply blew a raspberry at Ferham. "Riiiight. I've had this hair ever since before I lost my memory, and I know it's eye-catching. So I always kept it this way just in case someone I knew might notice me. But it never happened." he elaborated. "Now it's my turn. Ferham, what do you want from this experiment?" he asked.  
"Well, I just want to get stronger. And maybe I can get a Force Metal that can get me to fly. I've always wanted to see this gigantic world." Ferham answered.

Seeing the world, huh?

"That reminds me. I used to travel around the world before I ended up here." I remarked, remembering my traveling days with Delta.  
"Oh my god. Then why the hell are you here? I would've wanted to switch places with you." Ferham commented.  
"Because I want to get stronger, too. All this time, I keep seeing reploids getting oppressed by humans. I want to stop it." I answered, with a flat tone of voice.

Everybody went silent. I guess it's my turn to sow the seeds of awkwardness…

"Then, we'll have to make sure you survive." Mach Jentra spoke up. "I was a butler, but I quit the job after suffering from so much abuse. That's why I can't fly anymore." he sighed.  
"Well, we'll have to survive, too! I want in on that. I can no longer count the times I had to fight off drunk human males." Ferham chimed in. "Jentra, you want to survive and make a better future for reploids too, right?"  
"You're right. We all have to survive together and go through this." Jentra responded.  
"Yeah! We'll show those humans that we're not just scrap metal." Botos added. "How dare they wipe the floor with us. We have our own lives too, even if they did create us."  
"I agree." Scarface said, having nothing else to add.  
"Well, then, I'm glad we have something in common. I can sleep in peace knowing that. Let's keep on living, for a better future. Night, guys." I ended the conversation.

…

"So fast. We've gotten volunteers already." the other head researcher, Miyu Tezuka, remarked at the list shown by Prof. Gaudile in the computer.  
"Well, the question isn't how many we have, it's how many who will survive." Prof. Gaudile replied.  
"If I recall correctly, you were the one with the lowest maximum safe erosion levels, right?" Tezuka addressed me, and I nodded. "So specs might not be the prime factor. But we just infused some Force Metal into you. Maybe your maximum safe erosion level increased because of it?" she speculated.  
"I should test the six survivors on that today before we move on, and then the four volunteers who didn't survive yesterday." Prof. Gaudile suggested.  
"True. It would be best if we figure out the survival factors." Tezuka approved. "Epsilon, please tell the other five about this."

…

I stepped out of the pod when Prof. Gaudile opened it, marking the maximum safe erosion level calculation as complete.  
"Unbelievable, the erosion level actually changed!" Prof. Gaudile exclaimed. In response, the six of us scurried behind him to read the results over his shoulder.

"Holy shit…" I blurted out as I saw the huge change in my erosion levels—it rose dramatically. I chuckled when I looked around more—the Greek letter delta is used to denote change. My chuckling got louder when the change in the erosion levels was denoted with the variable Δe: "Delta e."

"Epsilon, that was awesome! Your erosion levels increased the most!" Ferham said.  
"Yours changed a lot, too." I replied after I looked at her own Δe, and then Scarface's. "Scarface, yours got a lot higher!" I declared.  
"Your change is the biggest, though." Scarface chuckled. "Hey, what does this read?" he asked, pointing at the "Δe" text.  
"It reads, 'delta e'. Difference in erosion." Mach Jentra beat me to the punch.  
"Whyyyy is my delta e the smallest?" Botos whined.  
"Shut up, mine is small too." Dr. Psyche sniped at him.  
"Because your erosion level was high in the first place, so there's little room for change. You didn't feel much pain, did you?" Prof. Gaudile responded to Botos.  
"Well…yes. It hurt, but it didn't hurt too much." Botos replied.  
"The same happened with Psyche. His delta e wasn't so big, because his erosion level was above average in the first place, and he did say he felt awesome when it was all done." Prof. Gaudile chuckled. "Well, we learned something new today, thanks to all of you, but especially Botos and Epsilon."  
"Well, in the end it was you, Dr. Psyche and Prof. Tezuka." I deflected the compliment—because it's true, isn't it? In the end, it was them who figured out the laws of science regarding Force Metal. We're just lab rats.  
"Anyways, since we're done here, we should get to the second stage." Dr. Psyche suggested.  
"You're right. There's no use dilly-dallying. Let's go!" Ferham cheered.

We arrived in the experiment room just as we saw the survivors talking to Prof. Tezuka, the bodies of the ones who died having been cleaned up.

"Well, I'll talk to you later." Prof. Tezuka said when she noticed us. "The others are here already."  
"Okay." one of the three survivors, a bobcat reploid, responded. The other two followed the bobcat reploid as he walked out of the experiment room.

"So those are the survivors…what are their names?" I asked.  
"The bobcat reploid is called Wild Jango, the big one is called Silver Horn, and the normal-looking one is called Incentas." Prof. Tezuka answered with a smile. "Anyways, about the experiments, now we're using a fragment of Supra-Force Metal. Did your erosion levels change?"  
"Yes, they rose." Mach Jentra stated.  
"Hmmm…interesting. But now the possibility of all of you surviving will be higher now. I wish you all the best." Prof. Tezuka responded.

We stepped into our pods as Prof. Tezuka loaded the Supra-Force Metal fragment into a case. When the pods closed, I closed my eyes as well. I tensed as I felt a massive surge of pain from all over my body. It hurts so much…I want to lose consciousness here and now. But I don't want to sleep and never wake up again. I have to stay strong. I want to survive to build a better world. So that someday, I can see Delta again, in that better world. And then we can be together again.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** holy hell the ship tease is strong with this one. i didn't make this up-surely you know that in your math or science classes, difference in something is measured with "delta". Like, for example, Δv (Delta v, difference in velocity, in physics). Even in my finance courses, we still use delta. And now, erosion. So I get Δe. It's just...so, so fitting._


	29. Through the Fire and Flames

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 29: Through the Fire and Flames**

After the meal, we went to the immigration centre to apply for a pass for me to stay in Giga City. Fortunately, my pass was processed and approved faster because I've already gotten a job. And then, Jasmine and I returned to the hotel I was staying in. I checked out, and took my backpack with me as I followed her back to the shop, because I'll be living there as her assistant. She has a small unit above the shop that she reserved for shop assistants like me, while she lives in an apartment with her sisters Cumin and Saffron.

I placed my backpack in my new room, also to take a look around the place. It's a nice little unit with a bathroom, a kitchen, a washing machine, as well as a dryer. After a brief tour of the unit, Jasmine then took me on a short tour of the neighbourhood so I know where the best food and grocery stores are. The last place we stopped at was…

"Unless you're looking for produce like meat and vegetables, you should just stop by Saffron's general store." she said with a giggle when we arrived in front of Saffron's shop. She entered first, and I followed.

"Jasmine, hello!" a blonde reploid who looks similar to Jasmine—most likely Saffron—greeted her. "And…oh my god, Jasmine, did you get a boyfriend?" she gasped.  
"No!" Jasmine said, flustered. I just laughed at them, because the joke's on Saffron; I'm gay. "He's just my new shop assistant." Jasmine corrected Saffron.  
"O-oh! I'm so sorry!" Saffron turned to me, apologizing.  
"It's okay." I replied as I stopped laughing. "You're Jasmine's sister, Saffron, aren't you? Nice to meet you. My name's Axl."  
"He's that former S-class, how cool is that?" Jasmine bragged. I just looked away in slight embarrassment. It's been six years since my retirement, and I still carry that kind of aura? I can't believe it.  
"Oh my god, Jasmine, you should totally take him to Cumin." Saffron exclaimed.

"Cumin runs the weapon shop, right?" I clarified.  
"Yeah, so if you ever run out of ammo, or if you need other guns, you just come to see her. Actually, I'm taking you to Cumin after this, soooo…" Jasmine replied.  
"Is Cumin's shop still open?" I asked. It's already 9:30 PM, after all…  
"Should be—" Jasmine answered, only to be cut off.  
"Actually, Cumin texted me. She closed her shop early today because she wanted to buy the three of us dinner. She said it's bento from this new grocery store called Knight." Saffron cut her off to explain.  
"Ah, I see…oh well, maybe tomorrow." Jasmine shrugged. "That's all for today, Axl. Remember, shop's open at 9 AM. I'll see you then, okay? I'll be going home with Saffron."  
"Will you girls be okay at night?" I asked, worried because even though she can defend herself, Jasmine is still a civilian, and so is Saffron.  
"Don't worry. We've been fine all this time." Saffron assured me as she left the cash register. "Bye, Axl."  
"Okay, then. Stay safe." I replied as I left the general store to return to the unit.

When I got back, I unpacked my stuff and showered. Finally, I have a sense of purpose, I guess. Just like what Epsilon had said…but then again this purpose is tied to him in the first place. I'm just staying here until I hear the last of the Supra-Force Metal experiments. Of course, if Epsilon doesn't survive…ach, damn it. I don't know what to do if Epsilon…dies. Maybe rejoin the Hunters? No, I don't think I belong there anymore. Sure, they'll welcome me back; I was an S-class after all. But I'm just not feeling it.

Speaking of the Maverick Hunters…

I opened my text message folder to look at the newest text from X and Zero again. Apparently, the Hunters just got its first New-Gen colonel—his name is Colonel Redips, and he'll be managing Far East HQ. Zero and X saw it fit to tell me about it, because I'm one of the two New-Gen prototypes. Well, it's pretty good enough news for me, even though I don't really care anymore. Giga City needs its own Maverick Hunter HQ, maybe. Even though the human population greatly outnumber the reploid population, the security here is still shit.

Suddenly, my phone rang—it was a call from Jasmine.

"Hello, Jasmine?" I answered.  
"Hey, Axl…sorry if I'm bothering you at 10 PM, but can you cook breakfast for me tomorrow? That Knight makes some nasty bento. None of us could finish it, so I'm…well, we're going to sleep hungry." Jasmine explained, whining a bit at the end.  
"Ouch…well, don't worry. The supermarket is open for 24 hours, right?" I clarified.  
"Yeah. Thank you sooooo much, Axl, I really owe you. You can cook, can you?" Jasmine asked.  
I chuckled as I remembered that Epsilon got me into cooking for a relatively short while. "Yeah, I can. I'll cook up something big enough for Cumin and Saffron too." I said. "I hope it's okay if I cook it now and reheat it the next morning."  
"Oh, just getting breakfast the next morning would be a blessing for us, so it's completely OK. Once again, thank you so much. Bye!" Jasmine replied.  
"Bye." I said before ending the call.

After putting some clothes on and buying potatoes, oil, chicken and fried chicken seasoning mix for a quick, satisfying meal for four people, I placed the groceries on the kitchen counter. If I'm making something I'll need to reheat the next day, then crispy is not an option. I haven't been cooking regularly for a long time, now, so to avoid a mess, I just decided to take all my clothes off, and wear a single apron. I don't feel like showering again.

I coated the outside of the chicken with the seasoning mix and left the meat with the seasoning for a brief marinating as I prepared and mashed the potatoes. The only thing that was left was to fry the chicken. I heated the oil, and when it was hot enough, I placed the meat into the frying pan.

I laughed to myself as I looked—it reminds me of the good old days I spent with Epsilon. He'd chatter with me as I waited for stuff to cook, whenever there's nothing else to do on the side. But now he's gone, and I'm just laughing alone here. It's painful.

I sat in front of the dining table to avoid the heat, and started sobbing. Yeah, this is the greatest time to sob. Not like earlier today, when I sobbed in a public place in an appointment with Jasmine. Now I'm alone, for better or worse. I can no longer hear Epsilon assuring me that he's here. All I can hear is my own sobbing, and the sizzling sound of oil.

Wait. Sizzling sound of oil. I'm cooking, goddammit!

"Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" I cursed as I got off the chair and rushed to the frying pan. I didn't flip the chicken at all, so the side lying on the pan was completely fried, while the other side was only mildly heated. I shrieked in terror as I rummaged for a spatula, and flipped the chicken. Fortunately, the cooked side of the chicken wasn't burnt, and I was able to salvage the chicken. Otherwise, I would've served nasty bento of my own…

Epsilon, you're really, really right. I'm stagnating, still kicked around by my own feelings. I guess you leaving me was for the best…even though it hurts. But when I've changed, will our reunion be for the best, too? I want you back…

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** I hope you like this comedy chapter. The idea came to life when I came across an article in the website Serious Eats. There's a hilarious typo: "Batter the cauliflower once, fry it briefly, pull it out, let it rest, batter it again, and cry until crisp." CRY UNTIL CRISP HAHA OH MY GOD. It was gold, and Axl/Delta would definitely flub up like that...so I wrote it.  
Meanwhile, the title is kind of a troll-I took it off DragonForce's most famous song, Through the Fire and Flames. DragonForce is a metal band, and I've played that intense song in Guitar Hero and Audiosurf. But then...well, comedy chapter. And it's the chicken that goes through fire and flames. eue  
Also, the "Knight makes nasty bento" reference is dedicated to Hannaji/Moonchan. i love you moonchan. For the readers who hadn't noticed, Axl/Delta was cooking with a naked apron/hadaka apron. enjoy the mental image, you perverts._


	30. Far Beyond the Distant Sky

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 30: Far Beyond the Distant Sky**

"Nine survivors, and this quickly, too…this amount was unpredictable." Prof. Gaudile remarked.  
"What, you expect us to die?" Dr. Psyche scoffed.  
"Um. No. It's not that…" Prof. Gaudile stuttered.  
"Then what?" Dr. Psyche pressed.

I frowned as well, with Ferham and Scarface standing behind me. Both of them were restraining themselves—especially Ferham. She would blow her top off if she was as close to Prof. Gaudile as Dr. Psyche was. The others: Mach Jentra, Botos, Incentas, Wild Jango and Silver Horn just stayed calm, although I could make out them whispering their disapproval of Prof. Gaudile's attitude to each other.

"It's just that we never expected this many volunteers—" Prof. Gaudile tried to explain, but I cut him off.  
"'Well, the question isn't how many we have, it's how many who will survive.' Wasn't that what you said?" I cut him off, repeating what he had said two weeks earlier. Impolite as it may be, it really sounded like he wanted us to die.  
"But still! I'm still proud of you for exceeding my expectations. Now please, let me explain. Because of so many survivors in such a short amount of time, we don't have enough room to accommodate all of you well." Prof. Gaudile snapped, before calming down to explain.  
"If you'd explain it to us much earlier…" Ferham sighed from behind me.  
"Right…anyways, I'm going straight to the point and announcing that we move. This lab is way too small for all of us. Right now Prof. Tezuka are administrating the moving progress. We reserved a laboratory in Lagrano for when we have enough survivors, so we're leaving there." Prof. Gaudile explained.

"Yeah. I think, with these guys around, we'll need a lot of free room." Ferham chuckled, looking at Botos, Incentas, and Silver Horn.  
"Hey! This is all muscle!" Silver Horn protested.  
"Reploids don't have muscles, doofus." Botos teased.  
"What's so bad about being so big anyway? I like my new body." Incentas remarked—he was normal-looking, until last week. Most of us, except for Botos and Silver Horn, had to get our bodies modified in order to keep up with the power we got from the infused Force Metal.  
"I don't see you jabbing Epsilon for it, huh, Ferham?" Incentas added. "He's gigantic."  
"His maximum erosion level's the highest, that's why. My erosion levels are higher than you guys', but I don't need as much padding." Ferham proudly explained.  
"You were the one who cried like a baby after the last experiment." Scarface remarked, with a playful tone.  
"Hey!" Ferham snapped.

Prof. Gaudile chuckled at our antics for a short while before clearing his throat. "Anyways, it's not just space we're concerned about. It's also the possible fallout. Remember that experiment before you got yourselves modded?" he said.

We all tensed, remembering how the surge of energy from the experiments shorted out the machines in the middle of the fusing process. The pain had stopped for a moment, but it marked the beginning of a gigantic heart attack when I saw the fragment of Supra-Force metal half-embedded in my body. When I looked up to see my surroundings, I saw Prof. Gaudile and Prof. Tezuka scrambling to hook up the actual hunk of Supra-Force Metal to the generators to keep the power running, so that we wouldn't die. All of us survived the impact of the power cut, including the blast of Supra-Force Metal energy. However, we had to get ourselves makeovers, especially Incentas—he was the one who got hit with it the hardest.

The next three days were filled with interviews, especially from KIDO Journal. It turns out when the machines shorted out, the blast of Supra-Force Metal energy didn't just damage the machines—it caused the entire Giga City to lose power for a second, and the government had to spend an untold amount of money to fix the whole power network.

"Heh…I was so sick of apologizing to those officials when they strolled in here and told us to tone it down." Dr. Psyche said, flashing back to the previous events.  
I just smiled a crooked smile when I remembered that the rest of us just hid in our room after visiting government officials wouldn't stop shooting glares at us.

"The next experiments are just going to get bigger, so we can't afford for something like that to happen again…" Prof. Gaudile sighed. "In Lagrano, we have our own advanced solar power generator, and we're arranging for a backup to be purchased in case there's a second 'Great Blast' so to speak."

"Are we still looking for volunteers, though?" I asked. "We're moving to Lagrano, right? If room is the issue…"  
"No, we can't." Prof. Gaudile answered. "Lagrano's got enough room for nine. Just nine. And after we had to pay part of the damages for the Great Blast, we can't afford to carry through with our original plan."  
"The plan was for Tezuka and Gaudile to split up. Tezuka would manage the Lagrano laboratory for the advanced experiments, and for Gaudile to carry on with the first levels of the experiment. But now the government have withdrawn a pretty big chunk of their funding after that blast…" Dr. Psyche elaborated, sighing.  
"So we really have to survive, then…" Wild Jango remarked.  
"Why the worry? We've survived to get this far. We're going to get even farther, and we know it." Ferham cheered.

…

A week afterwards, we had settled down in our new laboratory in Lagrano. We had to help move the heavy equipment after almost half the staff were retrenched after the withdrawal of government funding. Thank goodness for the government agencies that continued to fund these experiments. The powers we got from the Force Metal made it very easy for us to do the heavy lifting. Ferham and Incentas in particular really helped out. Ferham's new flight-capable armour made her really fast with the moving, and Incentas has multiple hands.

"It's really nice having you guys here." Prof. Tezuka said.  
I just chuckled in response. Our presence was what caused the Great Blast in the first place, wasn't it? But it was inevitable either way, I suppose.  
"Thanks." I replied. "But are you really infusing us with Force Metal to lift weights?" I joked, remembering how the New-Generation Reploids were built for the construction of Jakob—which may have been forgotten after the government found out about Force Metal.  
"Oh no. For a much higher purpose than that." Prof. Tezuka chuckled.  
Sounds like I'm in for something big again. First it was Jakob, and now this. I guess this is my calling in life, whether I like it or not.

"What is that higher purpose, if I may ask?"  
"That's classified information."


	31. Tainted Mountains

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 31: Tainted Mountains**

"Supra-Force Metal Experiments Continue

KIDO Journal – In spite of the Great Force Metal Blast last week, the experiments will continue regardless, but in order to keep Giga City stable, the laboratory will move to an isolated area called Lagrano.

'We always reserved Lagrano laboratories for when we get to a more advanced stage in the experiments, but it seems like that advanced stage came earlier than predicted.' stated lead researcher Miyu Tezuka. 'Regardless, we did have plans to move to Lagrano.'

In response to the Great Force Metal Blast, which had obliterated most of Giga City's power network, the government had no choice but to cut over half of the funding for the experiments.

'It was regrettable, but this is what we had to do. There's a price that we have to pay for progress, but there's only so much we can pay. Once again, any and all inconveniences suffered by the citizens of Giga City were greatly regretted.' Chief R, one of the governors of Giga City, declared.

'We assure you that there will not be a second Great Blast. Lagrano has its own separate power source—an advanced solar power generator. We're purchasing a new one just in case blasts like these happen again. But if it does, it will not affect Giga City in any way." Tezuka further stated.

After a discussion with co-lead researcher Prof. Gaudile, as well as researcher-cum-volunteer Dr. Psyche, KIDO Journal regrets to inform the public that no outsiders, except for government agents, will be allowed into Lagrano laboratories.

'It's for the safety of everyone.' Prof. Gaudile noted. 'The next experiments are just going to get bigger. I've gotten used to it and I've installed erosion-reducing equipment, so I'll be fine, and the survivors are also used to it. But for other reploids, we can't promise their safety.'

'As for humans, the debris or electricity from any possible blasts might harm them. Given that we had to retrench most of our staff, we can only guarantee the safety of the humans currently working with us, so we regrettably have to forbid human visitors.' Dr. Psyche added.

This will be the last time KIDO Journal are able to interview the staff of Tezuka-Gaudile laboratories in person. The next news stories in regards to the Supra-Force Metal experiments will be based on reports from Prof. Miyu Tezuka."

"Damn!" I cursed as I slammed my fist on my desk after reading the news. When I looked away, I saw Jasmine's surprised expression.

I've done it again, haven't I? Two months without Epsilon, and I still haven't changed—still being bossed around and enslaved by my own emotions, as usual…

"Axl, what's wrong?" she gently spoke to me as she approached me. Fortunately, we're alone in the store. Thank goodness she's so patient…

"I just…they're moving forwards with the experiment! Those reploids could've died back there, and now they're going to do it again, bigger this time!" I ranted, my voice loud. I struggled to keep it down, but…

"Sssh, Axl…I know how you feel, it's okay." Jasmine said as she took out a handkerchief. "Here, use this." she continued, handing it to me.

"N-no, that's okay, I'm sorry…" I refused, and apologized. Damn if it wasn't inappropriate, even if the news really was bullshit. "I just…I can't believe it."

"I know, right? I read poor Dr. Psyche's statement. He said he woke up when the power was cut, and in the middle of the fusing process, too. And then it turns out everybody woke up with a piece of Supra-Force Metal half-embedded in their body, it's just…uuugh. Straight out of a horror movie…" Jasmine ranted as well, shuddering at the end.

"The volunteers are the biggest idiots, though. They've gone through that and they know they're going to go through even more bullshit, and yet they're pressing on anyway!" I added, throwing my arms up in the air. Epsilon, you piece of shit, what the fuck are you even thinking? You could've died a horrible, slow, bloody death, cold and alone in that laboratory. Why did you leave my side? Is all of this really worth it?  
"And yet, they chose all of this…" I muttered. "They chose this when they could've left anytime. Just…why?"

"I don't know, Axl. Maybe they don't have anywhere to go. When I insisted to follow through with the normal Force Metal experiment, it was because I wanted to make a name for myself, Cumin and Saffron. But still, there are limits. If I had tried to volunteer in the Supra-Force Metal experiments, I would've left when I was told that I might die." Jasmine answered. "I only signed in for the experiment for because they assured that no one's dying."

"At least you have common sense." I sighed as I slumped on the desk. To feel a bit better, I took out my mobile phone to look at past IM conversations. The last conversation was from X and Zero, which started last week.

"Are you okay, Axl? We heard about the gigantic power cut." was what the first message, from X, said.  
"You should just get back to the Hunters. We never have power cuts like that, haha!" Zero's followed.  
"Haha, very funny, you guys. I'm okay, thanks. But I think I'm good here, for now." I had replied.  
"Can I visit your shop sometime?" X responded.  
"It's not my shop." I corrected X.  
"Invite us to your wedding with Jasmine, alright?" Zero teased.  
"Fuck you, Zee. I'm gay." I corrected Zero.  
"OH MY GOD, AXL. WHY HAVE YOU NEVER TOLD US BEFORE?" Zero's response came, very quickly.  
"I don't know, I just didn't feel the need to advertise it." I replied.  
"That gave 'fuck you, Zee' a new meaning…" X said.  
"Fuck you, X." Zero cursed, playfully.  
"Fuck you, X." I mimicked Zero.  
"Fuck both of you, too." X shot out his comeback, having apparently gotten used to me and Zero ganging up on him.

I just sighed and smiled, reading these old conversations. And in my head, I still have my many memories with Epsilon. He left me his old DNA data as Lumine—the only DNA data I have now—in addition to his Stealth Mode. I can replay the memories I have with him all I want, but in the end they're just reminders that he's not here anymore. But I don't want to delete them.

Why are emotions so complicated?


	32. The Last Temptation

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 32: The Last Temptation**

"Jasmine, can I ask you a favour?" Axl requested as he helped close the shop for Jasmine.  
"Of course. You've been a great help for the past four months. What is it?" Jasmine replied.  
"Can I have tomorrow off?" Axl asked.

"Alright…but what are you spending your time on?" Jasmine pressed.  
"Oh, just a walk around Giga City." Axl answered, trying to avoid both lying and telling her the full truth.  
"Are you sure you're not meaning to walk to Lagrano?" Jasmine pressed again, and she sighed when she saw Axl tense. "I was right, wasn't I? Why are you going there? You know that they're going to have the final stage of the experiment tomorrow, and it's a restricted area." she reprimanded him.

"Call it the instinct of a maverick hunter, I guess. I know it's gonna go bad, so I want to stand guard and save whoever I can." Axl tried to explain himself. It's only part of the truth, however.  
"They already have security guards." Jasmine argued.  
"Except they might not have enough because of the retrenchments." Axl argued back.  
"Axl, I know you're kind and all, but I don't want you to return as a corpse." Jasmine sighed.

Axl tensed—he had said the same thing to Epsilon when Epsilon intended to leave his side. And now he's on the receiving end of it himself. But still…  
"I'm—okay. I was an S-class, Jasmine. I'll be okay." Axl assured her.  
"Alright…just…come back, okay? I don't want you to die. You're my—our first friend in forever." Jasmine relented.  
"Don't worry, Jasmine." Axl responded.

"Okay, don't tell anyone, but I have directions to Lagrano. The government gave these to us, authorized Force Metal vendors, and it's supposed to be a secret. I'm gonna give these to you, so you don't get lost in case you get chased off by volunteers turned maverick. Alright?" Jasmine stated.  
"Whoa, whoa, you don't have to. Just keep your promise to the gov't, okay? I don't want to get you into trouble. Besides, I asked for another whole day off so I can figure the directions out." Axl refused.  
"Hell no, one day off's not gonna cut it. Just take it, okay? Make sure you delete it when you're back here." Jasmine insisted.  
"Thanks, Jasmine…I really owe you." Axl replied.

Meanwhile in Lagrano, the nine survivors are all settled in their rooms. Epsilon, Scarface, Ferham and Botos are in one room. Silver Horn, Wild Jango, Mach Jentra and Incentas are in another room. Meanwhile, Dr. Psyche settled with Prof. Gaudile and Prof. Tezuka in the researchers' quarters, as usual.

"Tomorrow's the big day…" Epsilon sighed. "We're going to get infused with actual Supra-Force Metal."  
"Shame about the other four, though. Their maximum safe erosion levels couldn't match up with us." Botos added.  
"Well, at least we got to convince the profs to let those four stay so they can say their final goodbyes to us when we're done tomorrow." Scarface remarked.  
"What are we going to do after this, though? We know we're all after reploid liberation, but what are we going to actually do?" Ferham questioned.  
"You got me there, I haven't finished figuring it out. Diplomacy sounds pretty good…" Epsilon pondered.  
"Diplomacy's bullshit. Humans won't listen to us, and we know that." Botos replied.  
"You're bullshit, Botos. It's diplomacy and teamwork that led to Giga City." Ferham argued.  
"You don't have good teamwork skills yourself!" Botos responded.  
"You two, stop it, will you? We're all in this together. Brainstorming is good, but idea war isn't the way to go." Epsilon stopped their quarrel.  
"Right. The good way to go about this is to unite the reploids who have the same idea as us. We're just eight people." Scarface added. "And if we're uniting, no bullshit quarrels. Got it?"  
Ferham and Botos just groaned.  
"Yes, Sir." Ferham relented.  
Botos just snorted and nodded.

"When we're done with this experiment, Gaudile, what are we going to do?" Dr. Psyche asked Prof. Gaudile—both of them had decided to stargaze after they found themselves unable to sleep.  
"I think…I'm going to spend more time with my family." Prof. Gaudile replied. "I've spent so much time in this experiment…I need to make it all up. What about you, Psyche?"  
"Wait, wait. You've never told me about your family before. What's this all of a sudden?" Dr. Psyche asked back.  
"See? I just proved myself right." Prof. Gaudile sighed. "I'm too occupied with all this Force Metal thing…say, maybe I can take you to visit so you can see?"  
"Oho, keeping secrets from your old friend now?" Dr. Psyche teased.  
"I'd rather call it 'keeping surprises'." Prof. Gaudile countered.

The next day, Axl left the shop with a bag of E-tanks, and a backup gun Cumin had given him.  
"You have no DNA data on you except for one! At least take this, will you? S-class or no S-class, rushing into a dangerous situation underprepared is just plain stupid." Cumin's words echoed in Axl's mind.  
He chuckled as he dashed to the direction his internal GPS is pointing him to. Both Axl and Jasmine reached a compromise—she scribbled down the directions in a piece of paper. Once Axl had the image saved in his system, she burned the sheet.  
"It sure is a long trip…" Axl sighed audibly, being in a long, quiet road without anyone in sight for the last few kilometres.

"We survived! We survived!" Ferham cheered loudly as she stepped out of the pod, followed by Epsilon, Scarface and Botos.  
"Congratulations, everyone!" Prof. Gaudile cheered.  
Prof. Tezuka only chuckled and smiled.  
"Tezuka? What's wrong?" Dr. Psyche asked, noticing his colleague being not as pumped as the others.  
"Nothing…I'm just tired, I suppose. I was really anxious. I'm so happy regardless, that all four of you survived." Prof. Tezuka answered.  
"Well, then, get some rest. All of us deserved it after what we had accomplished today. Let's have a party after this." Prof. Gaudile replied.  
"Let's invite the others, too. I'm going to tell them. I'm sure they're just as anxious as Prof. Tezuka." Botos said.  
"Good idea. I'm just gonna fly around the place. I'm so happy!" Ferham declared.  
"Be sure you don't get carried away. I'm not gonna be held responsible for you missing the party." Scarface teased.  
"No, hell no, I won't." Ferham responded.  
"Anyways, I'm just gonna hit the sack for now. When you need me, just wake me up, okay?" Epsilon said.


	33. All That's Left for Me

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 33: All That's Left for Me**

After some time spent talking, the survivors, even Dr. Psyche, had planned to have their party in a restaurant somewhere outside the laboratory, because ordering catering to deliver to Lagrano is too expensive. Epsilon had left the volunteers common room to inform the researchers about it, when he heard whispering through their door—which was supposedly sound-proof.

"My hearing must've gotten better after the Supra-Force Metal infusion." Epsilon thought to himself. He bit his lip when his chest felt tight—Axl used to comment on his thoughts as well, and even now he missed that feeling. Epsilon sneaked a bit more to listen in, after hearing what he had heard…

"This is bad. They've gotten way too powerful than humanity can handle." Prof. Tezuka had stated.  
"Well, it's to be expected. It's the kind of experiment that we're conducting, right? Why the surprise?" Prof. Gaudile asked.  
"It's just…haven't you thought of why we're doing this in the first place? We're spending so much money on infusing reploids with Supra-Force Metal and making them ridiculously powerful. But for what?" Prof. Tezuka questioned.  
"You're not the only one…" Prof. Gaudile stated. "If they ever become mavericks, it would take a miracle to retire them. Especially Epsilon. His specs are insane. Who the hell gave the idea for this, anyways? I think us reploids are better off being not so different from humans. Those Supra-Force Metals are better off powering up factories."

"The request came from a 'Colonel Redips'…anyways, since we're already here, we can talk about the past later. We need to figure out what to do with the survivors." Prof. Tezuka replied.  
"Right…even I worry about letting them loose in this world. We can only remove part of the Supra-Force Metal from them, and even then it's only a small fraction. So what do we do?" Gaudile asked.  
"I suggest we lobotomize them tomorrow. We really have no choice…" Prof. Tezuka sighed. "Remove their emotional capabilities, and reduce them to tools."

Both Prof. Gaudile and the eavesdropping Epsilon tensed when they heard it. As much as Epsilon wanted to break in and refuse, he stayed put and quiet. Maybe, just maybe, Prof. Gaudile can convince Prof. Tezuka that there's another way outside of that. Lobotomy is death either way, even if it's the personality being killed.

"There's no choice…?" Prof. Gaudile blurted out. "I admit, that's the only thing I have in mind, too. I feel horrible for the survivors, they were so happy…what do we tell them tomorrow, though?"

"I think we've heard enough."

Epsilon's voice preceded him breaking down the door with one punch, startling both Prof. Tezuka and Prof. Gaudile.

"You just proved us right, maverick!" Prof. Gaudile cried out, taking out a ray gun from his toolkit and fired it at Epsilon. Epsilon, having never seen the tool before, stood still to receive the blow, confident of his newfound power. However, when the ray hit him, he cried out in pain and hunched.

"What the hell…is this…?" he struggled to speak.  
"Anti-Force Metal gun. I hid it from everyone for a reason." Prof. Gaudile explained.  
"Gaudile, you sure are great with hiding things…so what do we do now? We need a bigger machine to retire him." Prof. Tezuka responded.

"Oh no, you won't!"

Ferham's voice was heard, and she sped into the room, crashing into the window. She quickly snatched the gun out of Prof. Gaudile's hands and flew away.  
"I'm going to get help!" she cried out. "Epsilon, hang in there!"

"This is one of the times I regret not installing a self-destruct button…" Prof. Tezuka groaned.  
"Let's call the Maverick Hunters. They're best at this kind of job." Prof. Gaudile suggested.  
"We don't even have a Maverick Hunters HQ in Giga City! They're not gonna reach us in time!" Prof. Tezuka protested.  
"It's still worth a try! Let's get out of here, call the Hunters." Prof. Gaudile insisted, as he ran to leave the room. Prof. Tezuka immediately followed, not wanting to be cornered.

"What? Gaudile had this with him all along?" Dr. Psyche exclaimed in disbelief as he looked at the Anti-Force Metal gun Ferham was holding.  
"He shot Epsilon with it. I don't know what happened. I only flew in when I heard him scream and I saw Prof. Gaudile with this gun, and Epsilon was on the floor…" Ferham said.  
"That's not good. Epsilon's still sane, right?" Scarface clarified.  
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's return to him, ask him what happened! Hell if that Gaudile has another one, or even a bigger one!" Botos suggested.  
"Leave this one to us. I don't know how tough the piece of shit is, but we'll destroy this one over here." Wild Jango offered.  
"Right. I'm counting on you guys." Ferham said as she handed the gun to Jango, who threw it on the floor. After Jango, Jentra, Silver Horn and Incentas surrounded the gun, Ferham, Scarface, Botos and Dr. Psyche left the volunteers' quarters to retrieve Epsilon.

Axl arrived just as he saw Prof. Tezuka and Prof. Gaudile running out of the Lagrano laboratory.  
"Wait…hey! Why are you guys running?" Axl called out.  
"What are you doing here? It's dangerous!" Prof. Tezuka responded.  
"Because I had a feeling that this would happen." Axl explained himself.  
"Tezuka, open the gate! I remember this guy—he's the former S-class!" Prof. Gaudile exclaimed.  
"What a blessing." Tezuka huffed out as she rushed to the gate, tapping in her keycard to open it so that Axl can get in.  
"What in the nine hells is going on, now?" Axl questioned. He was expecting something to happen, but not something like this.

"Epsilon, are you alright?" Scarface asked Epsilon, whom he was helping to get up.  
"I'm fine now…it hurt like hell at first, but that gun was too small." Epsilon assured him.  
"What happened back there? Why did Gaudile shoot you?" Dr. Psyche asked.  
"They…both of them, they wanted to lobotomize us and turn us into mere tools because they think we're too powerful!" Epsilon cried out as the sinking feeling returned.  
"What the fuck?" Ferham cursed.

Axl slapped Prof. Tezuka across the face when she explained herself as well as Prof. Gaudile's plans.  
"Do you know what the fuck you're trying to do? You've been killing reploids from the get-go, and now you're going to kill off the survivors anyway?" he protested. "This is just bullshit! You spent so much time and resources, and for what?"  
"If you want to ask that question, ask the government!" Prof. Gaudile argued, pulling Axl away from Prof. Tezuka. "And this is no time to be asking us shit! If you don't help us with those mavericks up there, we're ALL going to die, not just them!"  
"YOU were the one who pissed them off in the first place!" Axl argued back.  
"Look, if you don't want to help, just leave, please? The last thing we want is someone with a lecture to tell." Prof. Tezuka stated. "I don't like lives being lost, including yours. So if you're afraid of dying, just go."  
Axl sighed. "Fine! But I won't kill them the first thing. I'm going to talk to them first, and I'm going to make you guys talk it over! Violence isn't the way, and you know it, don't you? I'll be back…" he said before he stormed into Lagrano laboratories.

"Says the person who used to work with violence…" Prof. Gaudile spat, muttering.  
"Maybe that's why he retired." Prof. Tezuka responded as she watched Axl dash away.


	34. Trail of Broken Hearts

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 34: Trail of Broken Hearts**

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** I don't know if you have noticed, but TViYH chapters 30-34 (later 35 and 36 as well) are named after the lyrics DragonForce's song, Trail of Broken Hearts. Trail of Broken Hearts is the mood song for this chapter, and possibly chapter 35, too._

* * *

"Epsilon! Epsiloooon!" Axl called out as he ran through the staircase of Lagrano. "Come out, please! It's me, Delta!"

"Who's that? Epsilon, you never told me you had friends somewhere else…" Botos asked Epsilon.  
"He…" Epsilon stuttered as he figured out how to tell his new companions. Tell them that Axl was someone he abandoned or left? They might think that they'll be left behind someday, too. Deny that Axl doesn't know him? It would be hard—even though it's possible. Epsilon's name was on the news several times…

"Probably a New-Gen maverick hunter posing as someone I know." Epsilon lied. "No one's coming to rescue us. We have to take our lives into our own hands."  
"Then do we kill him?" Ferham asked.  
"I said 'probably'. Let's not do anything unless he raises his arms." Epsilon said.  
"What are we going to do now, hide?" Botos asked. "Where do we have to hide? We have to escape from here, and hell if we're having freaking maverick hunters on our trail."  
"Those two researchers!" Incentas cried out. "I'll have to take care of them."  
"Incentas, no! We'll be branded Maverick for real! If we want them to acknowledge us as equals, we can't be Mavericks!" Scarface protested.  
"So you just want to stay here and let them kill us, is it?" Mach Jentra questioned.

"There you are!"

Axl's voice stunned the nine survivors into silence.

"Wait, that's…former maverick hunter Axl! Why the hell is he here?" Dr. Psyche questioned.  
"I'm not here to hurt you. Which one of you is Epsilon?" Axl asked.  
Epsilon's eyes widened—he hadn't seen Axl in so long, and now their reunion started out like this…  
"It's none of your business." Epsilon replied, trying his best to keep his voice low and authoritative. "Why are you here, if you're not here to kill us under those researchers' commands?"

"I just…let's talk this over, alright? I'm sure none of you are mavericks, you're just…you don't want to die. Right?" Axl said as he caught his breath.  
"There's nothing to talk about!" Mach Jentra protested. "They already said that they don't have anything else to do outside of that!"  
"Look, surely they're not doing all this just to kill you, right? If they wanted reploids dead, they…they…" Axl tried to convince them to calm down, but trailed off when he realized the understated disregard for reploid life in the whole experiment.  
"They would what, now?" Ferham scoffed. "If you know what's good for you, you'd give us their heads."  
"Hell, no! They wouldn't listen to whatever you'd say if you spill blood." Axl refused.  
"But everyone would listen to them anyways, even if they spill our blood." Dr. Psyche argued.  
"I didn't listen to them!" Axl insisted. "They told me to kill you. But I'm here to talk!"

"Axl's taking long…" Prof. Gaudile remarked.  
"Well, he's alone in that building, surrounded by nine other reploids infused with Force Metal. I think he's dead by now…" Prof. Tezuka sighed. "Gaudile, do you have a backup Anti Force-Metal gun?" she asked.  
Prof. Gaudile said nothing, and took out his other model. "Only one I've got, now." he commented.  
"How many shots can it fire?" she asked.  
"It draws power from the sun, so it can pretty much fire as many times as we want. The recharge time is crap, though." Prof. Gaudile replied. "What are you planning?"  
"To make a last stand in case Axl's dead in there." Prof. Tezuka answered. "Give me that gun."  
"Tezuka, you're crazy! Don't throw your life away like that!" Prof. Gaudile protested.  
"Gaudile, you're a reploid. You can survive more things than I can. Besides, you have Cinnamon waiting for you, don't you? You can't let anyone get their dirty hands on her." Prof. Tezuka explained.

Prof. Gaudile tensed when she mentioned Cinnamon—his only daughter, who helped him through his various research ventures. He had equipped Cinnamon with the Force Metal Generator he had secretly been developing.  
At first he had his doubts on whether to do that, because he might just endanger her—people would be willing to capture and maybe kill her to get their hands on the FMG. Only after he managed to enhance the FMG to have additional healing capabilities that he had faith that Cinnamon is better with the FMG than without.

"Tezuka, you're not going through this alone. I'm going to be part of the bait. We'll split up, and hopefully, we can lose them…" Prof. Gaudile replied.  
"The emergency aircraft can only fit one person, Gaudile, and it's going to be you. You have to protect Cinnamon, so…" Prof. Tezuka responded.  
"Thanks for everything, Tezuka." Prof. Gaudile sobbed as he handed Prof. Tezuka the Anti-Force Metal gun. "If you want to stun everyone, you just squeeze the trigger until the gun glows white, and then it'll become an anti-Force Metal bomb."  
"Thanks, Gaudile. Now, let's go." Prof. Tezuka declared before they ran into Lagrano.

"We can just run away! Away from everybody else, and wait until they forget us or something, or think we're dead!" Axl tried to convince the nine survivors into forgetting their idea to kill both professors.  
"Oh yeah? They can just track us." Wild Jango replied.  
"Not if we go to the polluted areas. We're reploids, right? We won't die from spending our lives in there. We can live on solar energy!" Axl argued.  
"It sounds peaceful, but living in selfish peace isn't what we're after. We want to liberate reploids from human prejudice, and if we're unknown, that's not going to be good." Epsilon responded calmly.  
"He's right. While senseless killing isn't the way, shutting ourselves away like a hermit wouldn't help, either." Scarface added.  
"Why don't you just build a whole new community in those lands, then? Reploids are strong, right?" Axl suggested.  
"That actually sounds like a good idea, but those humans can take over it, can they? They'll just force us to sign an agreement at gunpoint." Dr. Psyche replied.  
"Ah! I think I've found a way…" Botos remarked.  
"What? What way?" Axl asked.

Just as Axl asked the question, an object that glowed white flew into the room and clattered right at his feet. Epsilon's eyes widening as he recognized the shape of the object—the Anti-Force Metal gun, he reflexively dived, pushing Axl out of the way. When the gun exploded, Epsilon ended up taking the full force of the blast.

"Epsilon!" the other eight survivors cried out, and Axl opened his eyes to see the gigantic reploid lying on the floor, convulsing in pain, after taking the blow.  
"Ep…silon?" Axl stuttered out in a daze.  
"Epsilon! Are you alright? Please answer!" Scarface called out to Epsilon before attempting to help him get up, only to flinch and cry out in pain. "My arm!"  
"What the hell, the explosion is that strong?" Ferham questioned.

"Yes, it is!" Prof. Tezuka cried out, showing her face. "And we still have more of those for you mavericks!" she taunted, lying.  
"You just cower in there as you contemplate your hopes and dreams." Prof. Gaudile added to the taunt from behind Prof. Tezuka's back.  
"Gaudile, you bastaaaaaaaaard!" Dr. Psyche cried out, his tears streaming down his cheeks. He struggled to walk and move to chase them. "Ferham, Jentra, help me out, please!" he asked.  
"Argh—I can't make my boosters work!" Jentra grunted. "Damn it!"  
"I'm still fine. You guys just stay here, and I'll take care of those jerks!" Ferham declared as she glided away to chase both professors.

"What do we do with this brat?" Botos said, pointing at Axl. "I bet he's just here to distract us while those two throw explosives at us!"  
"No…you're wrong!" Axl denied. "Please, listen to me!"  
"We've had enough." Mach Jentra growled as he walked over to pick up a crowbar, and he hit Axl's head with it hard enough for him to lose consciousness.  
"Jentra! What did you just do?" Epsilon protested. "He didn't attack us at all!"

"Botos might be right." Mach Jentra explained himself.  
"He might just call the Maverick Hunters on us. Or open fire!" Silver Horn added as he opened Axl's bag, gasping when he saw its contents.  
"Oh my god, he's got a gun in there!" Wild Jango gasped when Silver Horn took out the gun Cumin had given to Axl. Fortunately, Axl's standard guns are safely inside his container program.  
"That gun's pretty high-tech, too. Damn it, he's probably out to kill us in the end!" Dr. Psyche argued.  
"The point stands that all he did was talk to us." Scarface clarified.

"Besides, if we're going to be acknowledged, we're going to need witnesses…so let's just leave him. And as proof that we're not crazed mavericks, we're sending him back in peace." Epsilon added. "I'm taking him back to Giga City."  
"Whoa, whoa, Epsilon, you better explain yourself. Do you really know him? Then why don't we just recruit him to our side?" Dr. Psyche responded.  
"Either way, I'm taking him back, also to talk him into possibly convincing the government to leave us alone and acknowledge our goodwill." Epsilon replied as he hauled Axl's comparatively small body.  
"Epsilon's right. If we destroy him, we're just going to worsen our situation." Scarface replied.  
"I don't quite agree, but sure, whatever. So what do we do? Do we just wait here or what?" Botos questioned.  
"Scarface, you just help everyone else look for a base, alright? We can't stay here since Lagrano's prime target for people who want us dead." Epsilon ordered as he walked away, carrying Axl.  
Scarface just nodded and waved at Epsilon as he left.

Some time later, Ferham reunited with the other survivors, her pink armour splattered with blood.  
"Gaudile's escaped, but Tezuka's dead. So, what did I miss, and why was Epsilon carrying Axl out of here?" she asked.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Well, that's the end of my TViYH fever for today...and I have a few things to confess. I skipped over a lot of details in the Giga City arc because the fic would be unbearably long otherwise. I'm just in the middle of the whole fic! It's a shame that I have to skip through some things, even though I don't feel that they're significant (Like the Great Force Metal Blast), but TViYH would be unbearably snail-like otherwise, proceeding at an intolerably slow pace._


	35. There's a Feeling Held Deep Inside

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 35: There's a Feeling Held Deep Inside**

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Another chapter named after the lyrics of DragonForce's Trail of Broken Hearts. It's the mood song for this chapter, as well as the previous._

* * *

Walking away from Lagrano towards Giga City, Epsilon still carried his former companion like a baby. Axl hadn't forgotten, or stopped caring, about him, after all. It was a bittersweet thought to him, because he had dirtied his hands. It would be dangerous to insist on being affiliated with him.

"You've changed."

Axl's sleepy voice interrupted Epsilon's train of thoughts. The fact alone gave Epsilon a heart attack—he stopped in his tracks.

"I missed you."

Axl continued speaking, those three words cutting deep into Epsilon's heart. Not knowing what to say in response, Epsilon bit his lip as hard as he could. What truth, or what lie, to tell?

Say that it's best for Axl to stay away from him? As close as it is to the truth, Epsilon couldn't bear breaking two hearts at once at this moment. Say that he missed him, too? As true as it is, it would give Axl hope that they can stay together, and it's the last thing Epsilon would consider giving.

Before Epsilon could come up with a response, Axl shifted slightly, moving his arms to cling to Epsilon before burying his face in his chest. And then, he started sobbing gently. Epsilon narrowed his eyes to hold his tears back. All this sadness and suffering that Axl had shouldered in his absence is all his fault. He had selfishly broken off ties with Axl in order to pursue his dream—but at the same time, it wasn't entirely selfish, was it? Axl was stagnating and it was his fault, too. He had prevented Axl from developing, and that was more of a reason to leave.

So Axl's better off being away from him. It gives him a chance of a better future. Right? If it's good for Axl, if it's going to help him carve a better future for himself, then why is Epsilon hurting so much right now? If Axl's happy, if he's living a good life, then surely Epsilon would be happy as well. Love means wanting the other person to be happy, with or without you.

Ah, so that's it. That's the answer. It's because Axl isn't happy…

"Let's run away from here," Axl said as he sobbed, "Just the two of us."

As tempting as it sounds, Epsilon couldn't accept it—he has a new allegiance to stay true to, a new purpose to fulfil, and a rebellion to start. Again. Nevertheless, Epsilon said nothing and moved his arm to draw Axl's head in closer.

"Don't leave me." Axl sobbed as he tightened his grip on his former partner.

His pleading stabbed Epsilon through the heart for the umpteenth time. He wanted to tell Axl again, "You're not alone, I'm here with you", but he can't promise that anymore. He wanted to keep Axl by his side from the new beginning, but he can't guarantee his safety or his welfare—he's starting a new rebellion, after all. He had planned to return to Axl when everything was over, if he wins. If he loses, then Axl can simply forget about him without suffering any dents to his reputation.

Feeling a drop of water hitting his head, Epsilon looked up to see nothing but dark clouds. Looking around for shelter, he walked towards the trees on the side of the road to keep both of them from being drenched.

"So what was that idea you have, Botos?" Ferham asked as she fumbled around for a cloth to clean the blood off her armour.  
"Dr. Psyche said something about humans forcing us to sign agreements at gunpoint, right? What if we do the same to them? We force them to acknowledge us whether they like it or not?" Botos suggested.  
"Botos, you're crazy. They'd just get bigger guns." Scarface sighed.

"What, isn't it the way of civilization?" Botos argued. "Wars were always like that. You destroy the other side and conquer them. Right?"  
"Sorry, but the world's changed. The entire world would target this small group of nine people, and pummel us with everything they've got, because we're mavericks." Dr. Psyche defended Scarface's point.  
"What about a combination? We plant our flag in here, load ourselves with weapons and demand acknowledgement." Incentas suggested.

"The idea of building a community elsewhere does sound like a good one, though…" Mach Jentra said, calling back to what Axl had suggested. "But we've got no money. Buildings don't grow from trees…" he sighed.  
"Then there's no choice but to conquer Giga City, right?" Wild Jango added.  
"We're shedding blood? Again?" Ferham questioned.  
"They have no problems shedding ours, why should we have any problems shedding theirs?" Silver Horn replied.  
Scarface bit his lip before speaking again. "You got me there. So we have no other choice. Incentas's idea is good enough. We should plant that flag in Central Tower. It's pretty much the icon of Giga City. The controls for most everything is all in there, and once we have it, we have access to everything else."  
"Sounds good enough. Let's tell Epsilon when he comes back…" Ferham said.

The emergency aircraft carried Prof. Gaudile to Central Tower. As soon as it landed on a heliport, Prof. Gaudile ran to the command room as quickly as possible.  
"The Force Metal-infused reploids had gone berserk! They killed Tezuka…I'm the only one left. Please, help me take them down!" he pleaded to the governors in the command room.  
"That's…that's horrible news." stated one of the governors.  
"For now, we'll have to evacuate the citizens. The newly-built air city New Hope situated near Central Tower should hold enough of the citizens. For non-citizens and permanent residents, they'll have to leave the area for the time being." Chief R declared.  
"Alright, I'm…I'm just going to return to my laboratory." Prof. Gaudile replied before he dashed away from the room.  
"Professor, wait!" Chief R called out to him. But when the door closed behind Prof. Gaudile, Chief R could only sigh and give up—he had an announcement to declare.

After feeling Axl's grip on him loosening and his body relaxing, Epsilon was certain that Axl had gone back to sleep. He gently pried Axl's arms away from him and put him down on the grass under the tree before getting back on his feet. He tried to glance back to look at Axl one last time, but the tightness in his chest grew when he moved his head, and decided against it. Walking away from Axl without looking back, Epsilon returned to Lagrano.

Jasmine, Saffron and Cumin were having a pleasant evening together watching television when the TV displayed the warning of the Force Metal experiment volunteers going berserk. The sisters hugged each other as Jasmine sobbed.

"Axl…please be okay…"

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** This might just be the last chapter for this month-I have exams to deal with, a resume to refine and pictures to draw.  
It had come to my knowledge that some of my readers are unfamiliar with Megaman X: Command Mission, so I think, for those people, this time is perfect for you to get to know about Command Mission, because I am writing this fic with the mindset that you're at least 60% familiar with it (You know the plot summary and the XCM-exclusive characters).  
It's also because I wouldn't adapt the whole of Command Mission the way I do with X7 and PMGR, so some of the chapters in Command Mission will be told through short log-ish bursts-only events important to TViYH will be portrayed in detail.  
This short hiatus extends to PMGR too, by the way. The exams will be over at the end of February, but even then I might not be able to guarantee that I'll churn out chapters as fast as I used to, because, well, real life stuff and job-searching stuff._


	36. When Life, You Feel, is in Vain

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 36: When Life, You Feel, is in Vain**

Guess who got dumped again.

Really, Epsilon?  
I don't even know anymore.

Waking up alone under a tree after a drop of water hit my nose, I stared at the greenery in front of me. I just dashed past this area maybe a few hours ago. I don't remember how long I have been out.

The last time I was awake, I was dashing all the way to Lagrano laboratories. I don't remember when exactly did I reach the gate to see Tezuka and Gaudile running towards it. I think it took me about 15 minutes to find Epsilon and his new gang. I tried to talk them down. It might have taken me 15-30 minutes. And then…

And then those two smartasses ruined fucking everything. The fat green guy got himself an idea, and then they tossed some kind of bomb at all of us. And stupid, self-sacrificial Epsilon shoved me and took the blast. After that, there was chaos…and someone hit me so hard, I blacked out.

The next thing I knew, Epsilon was carrying me. I begged him not to leave me again, but I suppose that…that didn't work. I shouldn't have fallen asleep. But my head still hurt and I was still feeling so groggy. I couldn't help myself…or could I?

Nevertheless, arguing to myself in here wouldn't help anything…I wonder if those people are still in Lagrano? Or have they gone back to Giga City? Wondering too much is also pointless. They'd move farther away from me the longer I continue to think here, sitting my ass down.

Lagrano is closer from this place, so I should look there first…I also might find things that can be helpful. Maybe their diaries or something. Maybe. This would also help me, because if I recall correctly, not even KIDO Journal was allowed to approach the Lagrano laboratory directly…I'll get myself some info that no one else can have.

It didn't take long for me to arrive in Lagrano. My bag was lighter…I checked, and the gun that Cumin had given me was most likely taken by the survivors. What a bummer…it was a great gun, too…I hope Cumin would forgive me…but anyways, I'll deal with it later when I get back. I know I'll get an earful from Jasmine, Cumin and Saffron, but I'll deal with it later.

I didn't find anything in any of the volunteers' personal quarters. No diaries, not even clothes. Are they in armour 24/7 because their only purpose is to be experimented on? And why wouldn't Epsilon have a diary? Or could it be that he took it with him? I don't know.

I then zoomed off to the professors' rooms, hoping to find anything. My biggest question regarding this whole experiment is the reason why they'd risk life and funds for this experiment. What is the purpose of this whole bullshit? It better be worth it.  
Opening the door, I found two desks with so many files. It looks like a goddamn treasure trove. I guess there's a good side to Cumin's gun being taken. I know I might not be able to fit everything in here that I need into my container program, so the extra space in my bag might just be good.

Looking through the file folders, I only found the progression and hypotheses. They're good and all, but I'm not a Force Metal scientist. They're not much of use to me; I should save my space and get something else. Besides, KIDO Journal's articles on the progression of the experiments are easier to understand for a non-academic like me.

And then, I looked into the drawers, and found invoices. Bills addressed to them, cheques from the government…nothing much of use to me…

Wait.

Why does this cheque bear the logo of the Maverick Hunters? And this is from a "Colonel Redips"?

"Hey, Axl! Guess what? The Hunters just got its first New-Gen colonel! His name's Colonel Redips, and he's posted in Far East HQ." X had beamed to me in a text message about four months ago.  
"Well, I know that this might sound kind of small, but considering the bad rap of New-Gens these days, this is very surprising news, Axl." Zero added.  
"Well, it certainly surprised me." I had replied. "I never expected such a thing."  
"Speaking of which, Axl, did you leave the Hunters because of prejudice?" X asked, out of the blue. "I don't think I ever heard of anyone trying to mess with you, not that anyone will, but…did you?"  
"Oh no, certainly not!" I assured, telling him the truth. "I guess…I'm just sick of the same old fighting, I suppose…"

So will I be dragged back to this fate? Am I going to have to return to being a hunter again to pursue this case? Will I have to kill Epsilon? Or will I join him and kill X and Zero? Or am I just thinking a bunch of nonsense to myself and that it'll never come to that?

I don't know. Either way, I need to find as many things related to Colonel Redips as possible. I might be able to get X and Zero to snoop in, since, well, they're still Maverick Hunters, after all…

As I dug into the older records of invoices, I found more and more cheques from Colonel Redips in the early stages of this experiment. And in the very first month, all of the cheques are from Colonel Redips—except the name was just "Redips" instead of "Colonel Redips". He must've been funding this experiment even before he was Colonel…it must be so important to him.  
I just took the plastic envelope for that first month and stuffed all the other cheques from Colonel Redips into that envelope before transferring it into my container program.

Colonel Redips must want this experiment more than anybody else…but why? Hopefully, he sent a few orders to Tezuka and Gaudile, and I hope they brought it along with them. And if Colonel Redips funded this experiment, why was his name never on the news of KIDO Journal? And if he did, why did the Maverick Hunters never seem to make it a big issue? X and Zero don't seem to know much about it, if at all. If it was big gossip around HQ, they'd talk to me about it, just like Redips' promotion to Colonel…and Force Metal's been trending for like, five years.

Some secrets have been kept, and I don't know for what reason, but I don't think I should spill the information to the whole world until the time is right. This is just like when I discovered Phi Wily and his lab…it's for the best that I shut the fuck up about him. Maybe this time, it's going to be just like that.

For now, I'm just going to rummage through this place to find as many records on Redips as I can. There are secrets that are being kept, and someone, somewhere, is not going to want them to get out of this place. But I'm here, and I'm going to take those secrets with me.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** It's been literally 3 months since the last update...I can see that the document for TViYH chapter 35 is expiring today already. So...for people who don't read my other, bigger (for now) fanfic Paint My Goodbye Red/PMGR, I've gotten a job and I'm moving from Singapore to Indonesia because that's where my post is. I'm no longer a student with the free time of a student, but I'm a (transitioning) working adult with the free time of one. You can get more details in one of the "end chapters" of PMGR, after the very final epilogue._

 _From that "chapter", you can also see that I'll be mostly drawing since I hadn't drawn for some time, but it might change as I'm more finicky when it comes to drawing, compared to writing. Well, I was right. After 3 pictures, I'm starting to write again. But then again, my plan *is* to draw some artworks first before moving on to half-and-half, AKA drawing and writing at the same time in a crop rotation style kind of thing. I just didn't expect the half-and-half-ing to be this early, but eh._

 _But then again, I do have a lot of twists I want to get to in TViYH. And I hope that by now, you've known Megaman X Command Mission well enough...it's been 3 months since I left this to work on PMGR and my life. I won't be able to accommodate people who have not seen it, because I'm going to jump through the chapters, focusing on Axl/Delta and Epsilon, and I will only zoom in to X and Zero as necessary. So if you don't know much about MMXCM, you guarantee your own confusion._


	37. Once Again

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 37: Once Again**

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** _Hi guys, I'm back. It's been like, a month since the last update. I had been juggling work and drawing. PMGR readers might remember this, but I had mentioned that I intended to shift to drawing before half-and-halfing between drawing and writing. Boy, did I do that. It's also because I had been stuck with TViYH's progression for a while. Now I finally figured it out._

 _Anyways, this chapter's mood song is "Hello" by Adele. That song made me cry...and I don't know if you can tell, but I don't cry easily. Hell, I revel in writing stories that make people cry, as PMGR readers can attest to. This chapter would've made me cry if I wasn't the one writing it. Either way, the mood song is no longer DragonForce's "Trail of Broken Hearts", as it has been for the last several chapters. eue longest-lasting mood song session ever..._

* * *

"He didn't pick up, Jasmine…" Cumin remarked, looking at the screen of her phone.  
Jasmine's teeth chattered when she heard that sentence again. She didn't count how many times they called, and Axl wouldn't pick up the phone.  
"Maybe…his phone is out of battery, Jasmine…" Saffron speculated.  
"Impossible…! I made sure that phone was charged to maximum, and I know his phone's not one of those phones that sucks battery like hell!" Jasmine answered, her voice raised in horror. "I just…I hope he's alive…I just hope it's because he hasn't been hearing the ringtones…"  
"Jasmine, I gave him the best gun I have, and he's a friggin' former S-class hunter. He'll be okay." Cumin assured.  
"I hope so…I'm just really worried, I don't want him to die…" Jasmine sobbed, hugging her knees and hanging her head as the bus drove on.

It had been hours since they heard the warnings on TV requesting that they pack up their belongings and leave. Giga City citizens, human or reploid, were to evacuate to the new city that was recently opened, New Hope. Being a new, barely populated city located in very close proximity to the Central Tower, where Giga City's government is centred in, it was the perfect location for refugees.

Jasmine and her two sisters Cumin and Saffron left their shops with heavy hearts, taking nothing more than one or two suitcases with them.

"You shouldn't have gone out there, Axl…" Jasmine had whispered to herself when she locked the door of the shop. Axl can just come home any time, he has the keys…but he'll come home to nothing but a letter saying that the three sisters had gone to New Hope, and a contact number to request assistance from the government to go there when he returns.

As the buses destined for New Hope moved along the roads, Jasmine looked around the windows, hoping that Axl might have seen and heard the announcements in other territories closer to Lagrano, and he had just gotten on another bus.

But that was nothing but a mere hope. Axl was still rummaging around the abandoned ruins of Lagrano for all the documents he could stuff into his bag and container program, mainly proof of Redips being personally involved with the Force Metal experiments even before he was Colonel.

"Holy shit." Axl remarked. "Where did he get all this money from?" he continued as he observed the numbers in the earliest invoices. "This is almost my whole A-rank salary. Did he live on solar energy? No instant noodles or anything?" he further ranted in disbelief.

"Thinking back on it," he thought to himself. "I never really knew what kind of person this Redips is. Was he a millionaire even before joining the Hunters? Or is he just really frugal when it comes to himself? Is he a charitable person? I should ask X and Zero…"

Axl thought as he opened his bag to take out his mobile phone. He had set it to silent mode, and…

"Oh, shit." Axl cursed as he looked at the many, many records of missed calls from Cumin, Saffron, and especially Jasmine. "They're gonna chew me out." he huffed out.

"The call is going to take a long time," Axl thought some more. "So I'll just send X and Zero some IMs. While I wait for their reply, I'll let those three chew me out. I must've worried them like hell…"

Axl quickly opened the instant messaging program, and accessed his group chat with X and Zero.

"Hey, guys. I know it might just be too late for me to ask, but, well…when Colonel Redips first got into the spotlight, I doubt you guys know anything about him yet. So…can you tell me about him? I'm quite curious. What does he do? What did he do before he was Colonel, or even before he became a hunter, if you know? What kind of person is he? His personality and stuff. Thanks guys!" he typed as quickly as possible.

And then, he called Jasmine.

Jasmine gasped, nearly jumping when she heard her phone ring. She smiled really wide the moment she saw the screen, showing that Axl had called her back.

"Hey! Axl! It's you…right?" Jasmine asked immediately the moment she answered the call.  
"No, it's Francis." Axl teased. "What is it, Jasmine? I'm sure I worried the hell out of you, Cumin and Saffron, huh?"  
"Sure as hell you did! I'm putting the phone on loudspeaker. Cumin and Saffron are staring at my phone like hungry eagles!" Jasmine excitedly exclaimed, and set the phone on loudspeaker.

"Can you all hear me now?" Axl said again.  
"Loud and clear!" Cumin declared.  
"Jasmine almost cried, you know." Saffron giggled. "What happened? Why didn't you pick up the phone?" she asked, her tone more serious.  
"Ah." Axl blurted out. "I'm sorry. I set the phone on silent." he apologized. "Otherwise…" he trailed off.  
"Otherwise what?" Saffron pressed.  
"Nevermind. I don't want anyone to go after you if I somehow screwed up in there." Axl revealed. "Anyways, do you know that…" Axl spoke up, wanting to tell the three sisters the truth behind the struggle in Lagrano, but… "Nevermind." Axl continued, regretting what he had just said.

"Secrets were being kept." Axl thought to himself. "I can't just fling them like nothing…"

"Do you know what?" Jasmine asked. "If anything, it's our line! Did you want to tell us that something went wrong out there in Lagrano?" she clarified.  
"Well…yes, how did you know?" Axl nervously answered.  
"The government guys at Central Tower had issued an announcement that the Supra-Force Metal experiment subjects had gone maverick, so we're all evacuating to New Hope, that new city really close to Central Tower." Jasmine explained.

Axl tensed in horror. Of course. Prof. Gaudile must have somehow survived. He did find Miyu Tezuka's bloodied body, but there was no trace of Gaudile. Gaudile must have been the one who alerted the authorities…

"Where are you? We left you a letter with the number you need to call if you need help evacuating, we're just going to send that number to you—" Cumin explained, only for Axl to cut her off.  
"No, you don't need to." Axl interrupted her.  
"What? Why?" Cumin exclaimed in disbelief.  
"There's…a lot of things I have to settle. And those are dangerous matters, and I don't want you all to get involved. So…this is goodbye." Axl explained himself, masking his intention to search for, and confront Epsilon. Maybe he can stop this madness…

"Axl, what the hell?" Jasmine yelled. "No, why? You don't have to risk your life! What do you want to do anyways? We can't just…leave you alone…" she spoke again, her voice progressively lowering in volume.  
"You can call it the sense of duty of a maverick hunter, I suppose." Axl made up an excuse. Yes, to him it is not his sense of duty, but they can interpret it as that, even if it isn't.  
"What, you're going to confront those Force Metal monsters alone?" Saffron spat.  
"They're not monsters." Axl huffed out. "They're people as much as we are." he argued, expecting them to not believe it. But that's the truth.  
"I don't want you to die!" Jasmine screamed.  
"Believe me, I won't." Axl assured, still with a calm voice, looking up to the ceiling as he remembered that a few months ago, he had told Epsilon the exact same thing Jasmine just told him, and he had heard from Epsilon whatever he had told Jasmine.

"There's something I need to do, and I don't want you to be involved. So this is goodbye."

Jasmine sobbed for a few seconds as Axl listened in silence, realising that he had hurt Jasmine the same way Epsilon had hurt him. Back then, when Epsilon left his head for his new body, he had sobbed the exact same way.

"Whatever it is…" Jasmine said, composing herself again. "Please come back to us when you're done." she requested.  
Axl bit his lip. "I can't promise anything." he truthfully answered. "But I swear on my soul that I'm not going to die."  
"Well, you better not." Cumin responded. "I won't forgive you if you die, you know."  
"Best of luck, alright? We'll be here cheering for you all the way." Saffron softly beamed, lightening up the mood.  
"Thanks, guys. You just…live your lives, alright? I'll live my life in the meantime. Goodbye." Axl replied with a smile.  
"Bye…" Jasmine said, and then Axl hung up.

Right after he ended the call, Axl heaved a big sigh.  
He had just made Jasmine, Cumin and Saffron suffer from the sorrow he suffered when Epsilon left him, that took him to them in the first place.

"I'm sorry, you guys." he muttered. "I'm sorry I'm a horrible person. And that's why I won't be coming back."


	38. Rain of Tears

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 38: Rain of Tears**

"Freeze." an authoritative voice coming from a hulking, black-armoured reploid with a tattered cape froze Jasmine, Cumin and Saffron…along with the refugees in the same room as them.

"I mean it!" a loud voice of an old man-like reploid with a grotesquely enlarged white head followed, and he carried a gun with him—one that Cumin recognizes all too well.

Both the reploids and human refugees in that area of Central Tower backed against the wall, some of them shuffling to hide behind the others in the front. The humans in particular shuffled to hide behind the reploids, who are more durable than they are. Some of the reploids helped the humans move behind them, knowing that metal is more durable than flesh.

It has been about a week since the sisters moved away from their shops, since the announcement of the Supra-Force Metal experiment survivors going maverick was spread around Giga City.

It has been about a week since the last time they talked to Axl…  
"There's…a lot of things I have to settle. And those are dangerous matters, and I don't want you all to get involved. So…this is goodbye." he had stated.  
"What, you're going to confront those Force Metal monsters alone?" Saffron had spat, at some point in the conversation.  
"They're not monsters." Axl had responded. "They're people as much as we are."

Cumin tensed when she connected the bits from their last conversation with Axl, and the sight of the gun she gave Axl, in the hands of Dr. Psyche.  
Did Axl decide to side with them?

"You can call it the sense of duty of a maverick hunter, I suppose."

No, it can't be. That was what Axl said. As a maverick hunter, he would oppose this kind of thing. Maybe he's trying to contact X and Zero—the two legendary hunters he once worked closely with. After all, getting hunters to come here would be no easy task. Giga City never had a Maverick Hunters HQ, or any plans to have one established!

Axl would never side with them…right?

"Whe…where the hell…did you get that from?" Cumin couldn't resist screaming. "Did you…did you steal it out of someone's corpse or something?" she growled.  
"I did steal it…but not from a corpse." Dr. Psyche spat. "But if you want to become one, then try and fight me!" he barked.  
"Psyche." the big, black-armoured reploid called out to him with a low voice. "Don't threaten her like that. Don't threaten any civilians here further than this." he ordered.  
"Well, fine." Dr. Psyche muttered. "But I can use this if someone tries to fight me, right?"

"Let's see you use it against me!" a large reploid lunged towards Psyche, only to be swatted away by a gigantic red-armoured reploid. The reploid who tried to assault Psyche was launched away, his back hitting the wall, and he fell face-first on the ground.

"Are you okay?" Saffron approached the reploid, who trembled as he stayed downed on the ground.  
"Damn it…" he cursed as he propped himself to his knees, with his hands. "I trained so much…when will I be able to protect people as well as Massimo…?" the reploid hissed as he slammed his fist against the ground.

"Maybe never." the red reploid that swatted him, Silver Horn, sneered. "Or maybe, you're already protecting people as well as Massimo…because is he protecting all of you against us right now?" Silver Horn taunted.

"Silver Horn, stop it." a yellow-armoured reploid with thick, bushy white hair ordered him. "We're not here to break their spirits. And I'm sure our appearance has already broken their spirits as it is."

"Huh, you too, Scarface? Alright." Silver Horn huffed out, looking away in embarrassment.

Scarface stepped forward to the downed reploid and held out his hand, intending to help him get up.  
"I'm sorry for what he did." Scarface apologised.  
The reploid trembled again, before quickly slapping Scarface's hand away.  
"What the hell is wrong with your manners?" a blue swallow reploid yelled at the reploid Scarface had offered help to.  
"Jentra, it's fine." a pink-armoured reploid with wing-like attachments on her back calmed the blue swallow reploid. "I understand that spirit all too well."

"People like you who oppress the weak…I won't accept anything from you! Never!" the reploid screamed out.  
Scarface sighed and nodded. "Epsilon, let's move on." he urged the big black-armoured reploid.  
Epsilon nodded, and moved to the upper floors, his gigantic boots making loud banging sounds every single time he stepped on the stairs.

Scarface and Ferham stayed along with Silver Horn, Dr. Psyche, Mach Jentra, Incentas and Wild Jango, to observe the four and make sure they don't harm the civilians while Epsilon is upstairs.

The door to the government officials' office was locked, but Epsilon broke it down effortlessly, and the door fell to reveal the frightened government officials.

All the guards had been deployed to hold off the Supra-Force Metal experiment survivors, and the powerful reploids defeated them like they were ants, leaving no one else to guard the offices.

"Don't be so frightened." Epsilon assured. "We come in peace."  
"After you killed Prof. Miyu Tezuka, you dare say that you're coming here in peace?" one of the government officials growled at him.  
"We wouldn't have harmed anyone if they haven't harmed us first." Epsilon insisted. "All I am asking of you is a simple request."  
"Well, we'd like to ask you the simple request of leaving in peace. Can you grant that?" Chief R talked back.  
"I'm afraid I can't do that, because I'm about to ask that exact request to the humans in here." Epsilon turned Chief R's statement back.  
"What right do you have?" Chief R spat. "You think just swinging your powers will just get you what you want? You must be some kind of thug. We won't bow down to someone like you."  
"Humans do that all the time," Epsilon responded, "And you never think of them as thugs." he finished, glaring at the human government officials in the room afterwards. "All I want is a little equality, at least in this corner of the world." Epsilon continued.

"We're already building it through cooperation." a human government official argued. "And if you insist on driving the humans away, then you're just going to sink to the level of those racist humans, and you'll shatter the dream of interracial cooperation with such a display of racism. Not all humans are like that, you know, and not all reploids are shining, innocent, oppressed angels either."  
"I second that. None of us will ever allow you to drive the citizens of Giga City out of their homes, whether they're human or reploid. If you're going to insist on your request at gunpoint, then you're just another violent racist, even if you're a reploid." Chief R growled.

Epsilon chuckled for a few seconds before speaking again.  
"Well, that sounds like a great idea. Let the humans have a taste of their own medicine for once…"

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Well, it's been almost a month since the last chapter. I think gathering the mental energy to write TViYH is harder than PMGR, maybe because it's my secondary (main) timeline. But even so, every single time I get a chapter out, it's always satisfying. I think it's like the bigger weapon that does more damage per swing, but you need more energy to even lift it.  
Well, never mind that. For now, I'm really satisfied with this chapter, since, if you haven't noticed, there's a cameo of Steel Massimo (Not the original Massimo), and the exploration of the concept of "fighting hatred with hatred" a la crazy Tumblr SJWs was really satisfying as well. It's nice to see how pent-up revenge clashes against an immature world in the process of maturing.  
In case you haven't noticed, no, I'm not supporting what Epsilon is trying to do, nor am I supporting the racists he's trying to hurt, either. The whole situation is really grey, mostly because that there are innocents caught between the crossfire._


	39. Ice Floe

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 39: Ice Floe**

"Am I too late?"

Axl had muttered to himself as he gazed at his mobile phone, before looking up at Central Tower from the window of his bedroom in the upper floor of Jasmine's shop.

The city he had lived in with the three sisters had been abandoned. He had walked all the way to the shop without seeing anyone in sight. The garbage, left behind by people who hurried to safety, had already been surrounded by flies, ants, roaches and stray cats. The automatic solar generators, at least, were still working, which was a relief to Axl, and that was why he was still able to take a shower and charge his mobile phone.

"Axl, never mind that!" said the IM X had sent in response to his questions about Redips, a week ago. "Are you okay? I heard the Supra-Force Metal experiment survivors went maverick! And they just took over Central Tower!"  
"Are you hurt anywhere, Axl? How's the state of everything over there? I'm pretty sure we're going to be deployed over there, holy shit…" Zero's IM followed.

"I'm okay. I just...can't give you full details over here, everything's a mess. The citizens had been evacuated to Central Tower, including Jasmine and her two sisters. For now, though, I don't know what to do, so I'm still staying in my room in the shop."  
Axl had answered honestly, about an hour after he got the IMs, giving as much detail as he could. After all, so many secrets were being kept, and more secrets will join in the pile.

First, Epsilon and the other survivors went berserk because the researchers were planning to turn them into puppets just because they think that the survivors were too powerful. And then, Redips' apparent involvement in the Supra-Force Metal experiment, even before he was colonel, the reason for which he wasn't able to figure out just yet…

"Hey, speaking of Colonel Redips…he sent a scout to search Lagrano for clues." Zero had sent an IM, a few hours ago. "His name's Shadow. Hopefully Shadow will get a lot of intel for us to work with."

"Get a lot of intel, huh…" Axl thought to himself, sighing as he imagined whatever hell Shadow would feel inside him when Shadow finds that a lot of the intel is sitting inside Axl's bulging bag, and some beside it after he took it out of his container program.

"I don't trust him," Axl wanted to type out to X and Zero. But right now, Redips' true trustworthiness was a secret he had to keep right now.

"I can't let the world keep on believing that the Supra-Force Metal survivors are either infected, or assholes." Axl thought to himself. "If the world would just know the truth…but after all this, would their sanctions be any different?"

Soon enough, the streets were no longer quiet as buses moved from Central Tower, filled with mostly humans, driven by reploids under the Supra-Force Metal survivors. Hearing the engine sounds from the window, Axl jumped straight to look at whatever the hell was causing that sound, only to see glimpses of crying and depressed humans from the bus window.

Axl bit his lip as he remembered the sight he had seen on the journey home just that afternoon—the big news TV in a huge interstate, showing Epsilon's face.

"Attention to all of Giga City. This island belongs to reploids now, and it will be the foundation of an all-reploid nation. Therefore, all humans are to be peacefully deported from Giga City. If you are a human outside of Central Tower, you have a week to register yourself there, pack up, and board the bus to port." Epsilon had announced.

Axl narrowed his eyes as Epsilon's public announcement echoed in his head, as the sight of the sorrowful humans inside the buses that drove them away from their lives flooded his line of sight.

"My racism hindered progress too, didn't it?"  
Five years ago when Epsilon first left HQ with him, Epsilon had said that about himself.

"Is this what you call advancement, Epsilon?" Axl muttered hoarsely to himself. "That's bullshit. Absolute bullshit. And even if it indeed is advancement, I don't think that's the advancement we had wanted."

Meanwhile in Lagrano, a lone, blue-eyed reploid in black and yellow armour stood in a room with empty pulled-out drawers all over the floor.

"What the fuck is this?" the reploid hissed. "Colonel Redips is gonna kill me."

"Find all the intel on me in Lagrano, and destroy them all." Redips had ordered him before he left HQ, "And after that, infiltrate the survivors' gang, and spill all the info on them to me so we can destroy them from the inside out. Do you understand, Shadow?"

"I understood all that, Colonel…" Shadow whined to himself, "But I found absolutely nothing…were those survivors really thorough as to take all data? Won't it be of absolutely no concern to them?"

"Who goes there?" A low male voice boomed behind Shadow, causing him to jump. Shadow looked back, and out of reflexes, readied his Pulverizer Cannon.

The one who had spoken was a blue swallow reploid, gliding right behind him.

"What's your business here?" the swallow reploid demanded.  
"I…I should ask you!" Shadow yelled back, trying his best to avoid sounding meek in front of a possible threat.  
"This place is of no concern to you." the swallow reploid stated. "Move out, or I'll burn you along with everything in here." he growled.  
"Everything? Hah! There's nothing!" Shadow declared.

The swallow reploid tensed and stared at Shadow. "How did he know?" the swallow reploid thought to himself.

Shadow bit his lip as drops of sweat slide down his face. Revealing that truth was a risky move, but this swallow reploid, Mach Jentra, is indeed part of the survivors. If he can just convince Jentra that he wants to join…

"I've been…looking for all of you." Shadow lied. "I heard of Epsilon's announcement."  
"Oh?" Mach Jentra spoke out.  
"And I…I came from outside of Giga City. I was a maverick hunter, and I'm tired of risking my life for those ungrateful humans who shit at me every chance they get." Shadow declared.

That declaration, unlike his first sentence, however, couldn't be closer to the truth. No matter how many times he kept his mouth shut, no matter how many times he convinced himself that he doesn't care…

"So I'm going to join." Shadow ended his speech, which began with a lie, with yet another lie.

Mach Jentra raised his eyebrows. "Then why didn't you come to Central Tower?" he asked.  
Shadow bit his lip. The question was a bit tricky to dodge. However…  
"I did say I come from outside of Giga City, and I was a maverick hunter. So I…I just up and left, so that no one would notice. I mean, come on! If anyone finds out that I intend to join you, I'd be skewered. So I rushed, so I came unprepared. I got lost." Shadow lied again.  
"Nice answer, but how are you going to prove us that you're not going to join us just so you can sell us out to the Hunters later on?" Jentra pressed.

Shadow glared at Jentra for putting him in such a difficult situation, and slowly manifested his Hunter ID—which contained the chip that would open the gates of HQ, and his room in HQ for him—in his hands.

"No matter." Shadow thought to himself. "I can just get Colonel Redips to get a new one for me made when I'm done with this bullshit."

His mind made up, he threw the ID to the ground and stepped on it. Jentra smiled when he heard the crunching sound produced by the ID being tread on, and his smile got wider as Shadow stomped on it again, again, and again.

After a few more stomps, Shadow moved his leg away, revealing small, cookie-crumb like pieces of the Hunter ID, before huffing out, "There. You can burn it for good measure if you want to."

"There's no need to. Your spirit has burned it well enough."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** As much as I want to babble, I would spell out the twist if I try and discuss this chapter, and I want you to figure it out and feel it for yourself. Axl's epiphany was quite painful, though. Don't you think that he's not the only one stagnating?_


	40. Caught in the Middle

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 40: Caught in the Middle**

The government officials' space was no longer occupied by their rightful tenants, after Epsilon forced them to take their belongings and board the bus to leave Giga City at gunpoint.  
All of them, except the only reploid, Chief R. The defiant leader was held in one of the lower floors with the other reploids who refused to join Epsilon's movement.  
Now only Scarface, Ferham and himself occupied that space, organising affairs and strategizing as they deal with reports from the other survivors.

And then, the doorbell was rung.  
"Who is it?" Ferham hollered."  
"It's me, Jentra." Mach Jentra replied.  
Scarface said nothing, and opened the door for him.  
Epsilon, Ferham and Scarface stared when they saw that Jentra wasn't alone—he was accompanied by a reploid they've never seen before.

"Meet Shadow, our newest recruit." Jentra introduced the reploid standing behind him. "I met him in Lagrano. He's a former maverick hunter. He stomped on his Hunter ID in front of my very own eyes."  
"Ooooh." Ferham uttered. "He's got spunk."  
"A-ahh, how do I…address you?" Shadow stuttered, intimidated by being in the same room as the most powerful Supra-Force Metal survivors. One wrong move, and all of them can squish him like a bug…

Ferham just giggled. "Don't be afraid, little boy. We don't intend to hurt you if you don't intend to hurt us." she quipped.  
"Ferham's right." Scarface affirmed.  
"You can just call us by our names for now." Epsilon answered. "So what's your reason for joining?"  
"I thought you'd know." Shadow remarked, relaxed after the three head survivors spoke to him. "Well, it's because I'm tired of being used by those humans. All my life, I've been fighting to protect those ungrateful racists. I want to live a new life in a society where reploids don't have to face that brand of bullshit anymore." he ranted.  
"Fair enough." Epsilon chuckled, remembering how Axl left after he felt that he was used. Would Axl join him for the same reason, though? But honestly, he'd really rather him not. Yet.

"So how about the data?" Scarface inquired. "Did you destroy anything?"  
Mach Jentra shook his head. "No, not yet." he stated. "Shadow and I, we came up with a strategy together."  
"Let's just cut to the chase…I intend to…sell the Hunters out." Shadow declared. His voice was loud and clear, but he slightly stuttered.

True, it was supposed to be a lie based on his original mission. But that thing about him not wanting to risk life and limb for ungrateful racists was true. Would he be better off siding, and continue to live the same life he always had with the Maverick Hunters, or try and bet his current life for a new one under the survivors' banner?

"I'll pretend I volunteered to intend to sell you guys out to them." Shadow stated, "So we just need to figure out how to convince them of this. And then at the right moment, I'll get HQ to get X and Zero, those two juggernauts. And then we gang up on them, and kill them! Surely Hunters HQ will be powerless without them."

"That's a good enough strategy, Shadow. So you'll need to closely work with us so we know what to tell them and how to respond." Scarface complimented.  
"We can give a bunch of cherry-picked truths, or carefully-formulated lies, or a mix of both, whatever, as long as we punch out the Hunters in the end. I'm pretty sure HQ is trying to get people to come here and kill you guys. That's why I'm here, so that it doesn't happen, so that our vision won't be snuffed out by the humans' tools!" Shadow declared.  
"Your spirit is good." Epsilon complimented.  
"Oh, I second that. Keep it up, Shadow." Mach Jentra added.  
Shadow just bowed without saying a word.

"We'll talk about this later, guys. For now we need to deal with something else first, 'kay?" Ferham said.  
"No problem. I haven't got anything concrete to give you at the moment, anyways." Shadow replied.  
"Well, if you'll excuse us." Mach Jentra responded.  
"You're dismissed." Epsilon stated, and both Jentra and Shadow left the room.

"So…about leaving Central Tower…" Scarface started another conversation. "Are you serious?"  
"This place has everything for governing, but it's not much good as a fortress. I mean, come on. We conquered it without even a scratch. This place isn't a fortress, it's a gigantic office tower." Epsilon answered, ranting.  
"You're right. A lot of the people living in this tower are noncombatants. But still, this isn't some random building. It's Giga City's most important landmark." Ferham argued.  
"Of course we won't just leave it to collect dust. Someone's got to guard it." Epsilon answered.

"But let's get to a more important issue first. Where are we going to set up our actual base in, if not Central Tower?" Scarface questioned.  
"What about Grave Ruins Base? That place where reploids' abilities are tested with various weapons and artificial mediums? I've been there before, and they have so much prop." Ferham answered.  
"Ah, yeah. Obviously there would be many weapons and it would be well-built so that it won't be so easily destroyed, because that's where shots are fired and fighting abilities are tested. The testing mediums will also serve as great security measures." Epsilon agreed.  
"Are you sure that there are no humans or reploids holed up in there, plotting to kill us?" Scarface asked.  
"Well, we can just send out mechaniloids to scout. Whatever we need to do next depends on what they see." Epsilon answered.

"Sounds great. Any other buildings we can take over, though? Because we would need to occupy as much of Giga City as possible. Gotta drive everyone out before we have a resistance army in the same hunk of land as us." Ferham suggested.  
"You're right…what about that abandoned, empty Force Metal mine, Tianna Camp?" Epsilon proposed.  
"Well, it's a piece of cake. Maybe we can use it as a warehouse…but they have rooms for the workers. I think it's too good to be a simple warehouse." Scarface responded.  
"We have more than a few reploids who still refuse to follow us. Maybe if we can convince them to…like some sort of correctional facility?" Ferham proposed.  
"Hey, hey, hey. We want to liberate, not indoctrinate." Epsilon argued.  
"Epsilon, sometimes we have no choice. Right now, we've just started a war. Anyone who isn't a friend is an enemy. Do we have a choice?" Ferham argued back.  
"Ferham has a point. Besides, if they insist, we'll just deport them out of Giga City, no big deal." Scarface added.  
"Well, alright." Epsilon agreed.  
"As an aside…I came up with something. We can't call ourselves experiment survivors all the time if we were to build a reploid state. So I came up with a name to call ourselves, so that the world will take us seriously." he said.  
"Oh, what's that name, now? Let's hear it." Ferham responded.

"We want to liberate reploidkind by making a safe haven just for reploids, right? Then it's only fitting that we call ourselves Liberion, don't you think?"

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** If you read the Megaman wikia, you'll find out that the Rebellion Army was misspelled as Liberion in the MMXCM manual. But I think Liberion quite fits, so why not use both?_


	41. The Wild Goose Chase

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 41: The Wild Goose Chase**

Even though Giga City has been abandoned, it doesn't mean I'm living here like some homeless tramp. The marketplace around here was abandoned, and so the produce was left unattended for some time. The fresh stuff had already rotten and some had already been eaten by animals, but the non-perishable and packaged stuff managed just fine.

Since no one's gonna take them for a long time now because everyone's left this place, taking them wouldn't hurt. But still, I only took the ones close to the expiry dates. If the crisis is over earlier, at least the people who return will find some non-expired stuff to get by.

I can manage without food anyways. I am a reploid and I can live with only solar energy. As for what the everloving fuck I'm doing here, it's formulating a plan with the map of Giga City I had procured when I first visited this god-forsaken place.

Now it's been a week since Epsilon took over Giga City, and I've been holed up here for that long.

So Epsilon and his guys have taken Central Tower. Shittiest part of this whole struggle is that I have no fucking idea what they're gonna do next. And to think I thought I know him best…

No, now's not the time to be an emotional sap.  
I rubbed my eyes and glared at the map.

Besides Central Tower, Giga City had several other landmarks and one possibly former landmark.

Lagrano, the former-landmark-to-be, was the laboratory where the survivors originated. Well, I know how it fell down. It will possibly become the core of investigations when the Hunters get here, and then that's it.

Tianna Camp, the empty, abandoned Force Metal mine, had become big news for a while before it was officially abandoned. Since the Force Metal in there had gotten empty, a lot of people in Tianna were worried about being laid off, but the government had planned on making it a tourist site for people who intend to come to Giga City to learn more about Force Metal, and it would be especially good for school field trips.  
The workers who were worried about being laid off found new jobs in refurbishing and administrating Tianna, and the location's future was bright. But it probably doesn't matter anymore after Epsilon and his gang disrupted life in Giga City…

Gaudile Laboratory was one of the biggest establishments in Giga City, and it was where the survivors stayed before they moved to Lagrano. Too bad the owner's a goddamned asshole. Gaudile is a famous, esteemed scientist with a big personal laboratory-cum-estate, but it's not gonna save him or redeem him, because if he weren't so brainless and heartless, he wouldn't have decided for the survivors to die. It's only natural that they fought back. If he didn't do it, all of this would've been averted. He's the true maverick here.

Ulfat Factory is the reason why there is no Maverick Hunters HQ in Giga City. Calvin and Esther Myst, two of Laurentia Myst's children, decided to try something new and develop new robots after the Jakob Crisis—Preons.  
Myst Robotics made the bold and daring decision to establish a factory in Giga City during its earlier stages and developed these pseudo-mechaniloids to be controlled by humans in the police force.  
It can be controlled by reploids or be set on auto-pilot provided enough data was inputted into it so it can tell friend from foe or at least know what to do, but the Giga City government decided for the Preons to be controlled by the Giga City police force, which are humans.  
I'm pretty sure that Epsilon would see this as an important spot to take, more than anything else. Whoever controls the Preons controls Giga City. These fucking things are everywhere once you realise they exist! Now that the police force had been driven out, I can see deactivated Preons lying around the neighbourhood.

Gimialla Mine was an Energen Crystals mine and development center, the things E-tanks are made of. Now that the E-tanks industry are declining in importance after the humanization of reploids mean that they can eat food and process solar energy more efficiently, Gimialla was bought by the Giga City government, and it has become a Force Metal laboratory. This is most likely where new varieties of Force Metal are being developed, including the Supra-Force Metal…Epsilon and the Liberion would want to take this place.

Vanallia Desert used to be the most prominent test field for reploids and Preons. It puts reploids and Preons in various environmental conditions to test their strengths and weaknesses. However, after the Great Blast of Giga City, the environmental control device was stuck in the "desert" mode, and no one has been unable to fix it until now. Nevertheless, it was still useful even though its usefulness had diminished.

Melda Ore Plant is where Force Metal ores go to be refined into the magic stones they are now, and they also make generator-powering types here. Again, the Liberion would want this area.

And then there's Grave Ruins Base, the test field that survived the Great Blast of Giga City because of how sturdy it was. Once, it was overshadowed by Vanallia because the owners of Vanallia put so many funds into its testing facilities, while the owners of Grave Ruins base put more of their funds into the security of the place. People were expecting Grave Ruins Base to get bankrupt, hence the name.  
After the Great Blast, it was clear who was right. Vanallia had been bought over by the owners of Grave Ruins Base in the end, and said owners wear the name "Grave Ruins Base" as some sort of a badge of honour.  
Ferham was the liaison between Lagrano and Grave Ruins Base when the scientists of Grave Ruins Base came to visit Lagrano to get the specs of the survivors. Apparently, she was their former employee who was laid off when Vanallia overshadowed Grave Ruins Base.  
Given that the test field can be used as security measures, this would probably be a base for the Liberion as well, since Central Tower didn't seem so secure. The last time I heard from KIDO Journal, the Liberion trashed the entire security of Central Tower without even trying. Not to boast, but if they're afraid of the Maverick Hunters, I'm not surprised. Those people had no combat experience and they can do it—I can probably trash the security the same way, too.

All of a sudden, a jingle sounded from my phone. Automatic signal transmitters are fortunately automatic, so I'm still keeping in touch with X and Zero. I took my phone to look at the messages…

"Are you okay, Axl? Hold on, we just need to get part the meddlesome bureaucratic phase. Damn, is it so hard to get us to zoom off to Giga City?" X had messaged me.  
"At least Shadow had already infiltrated the ranks of the Rebellion. We heard from Colonel Redips." Zero followed.  
"It's 'Liberion', Zero." I corrected.  
"I don't know, Axl. They shooed people off their hard-earned livelihoods, and for what? I don't think they deserve a pretty name." X argued.  
"They rebelled against the Giga City government. That's a fact. Anyways, any news from Gaudile?" Zero shifted the topic.

Ugh, Gaudile? How I want to tell them that I give no shits and that he was the one who condemned the survivors to death, and indirectly caused this entire disaster. But even if they know, will the Liberion be pardoned after what they had done, as X rightfully pointed out?

"No, nothing." I told them the truth—mostly because I never looked.  
"You went to Lagrano, right Axl? I called the shop the other day because you were out of signal zone all of a sudden. Jasmine picked up and told me. Didn't you see Gaudile?" X pressed.  
"I did. And yeah, I saw him. I think he escaped somewhere. I haven't seen him since." I told the truth again.  
"Is he being held in Central Tower? Oh yeah, what about Miyu Tezuka?" Zero asked.  
"She…Tezuka died." I replied. "I don't know who killed her, or if she killed herself like Laurentia Myst…"  
"This is a hot mess…" X remarked. "So what are you doing now? Can you hold out until we get there?"  
"I'm figuring out a plan to solve this problem while it's not very big yet. Maybe I can talk the Liberion out of this bullshit." I told them the truth, but for some reason it didn't feel like such a good idea after the IM was sent…  
"Alone, Axl? You'd be killed!" X replied in horror.  
"At least wait for us, will you?" Zero added.

I knew it was a bad idea.

"I'll see what I can do, but I'll keep in touch. I don't want to die, either." I assured vaguely.  
"Don't die, alright? Even if we didn't want it to be this way, at least we can see you again." X replied.  
"Fighting together again like we used to sounds pretty nice, don't you think?" Zero suggested.

I swallowed. X, Zero and I? Fighting Epsilon? Yes, that's a pretty nice way to tear my heart apart. I just hope it wouldn't come to that.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** In the middle of writing this chapter, I remembered that XCM's theme song is Jounetsu Setsuna, and the first words of the song are literally "I'm looking for passionate love" and I lost my shit. XCM happened because SOMEBODY broke up with his boyfriend... (See chapter 24)  
Given the ending of XCM, I wondered if Axl should just scream "WHAT AM I FIGHTING FOR?!" but nah, it would be too hilarious to take seriously._


	42. We Are

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 42: We Are**

Having just finished with a group discussion, Epsilon summarized said discussion as the rest of the Liberion, and Shadow, listened.

"So it's decided. Silver Horn will be the one in charge of Tianna Camp because he'll be able to handle water-related issues better than anyone else. Mach Jentra will be in charge of Ulfat Factory because of his superb administrative abilities and tolerance to heat. Wild Jango will guard Central Tower, because he's fast and he can prevent anyone from escaping.  
Dr. Psyche is in charge of convincing Prof. Gaudile to join us. Incentas will be in charge of Gimialla Mine, which is still tightly barricaded, because he can switch between elements, so he can handle the take-over. Botos will be in charge of Vanallia Desert, to reprogram the signal emitters to turn them into signal jammers. Ferham, Scarface and I will take Melda, and then Grave Ruins Base, because those two will be the most tightly-guarded areas."

The other Liberion members nodded as Epsilon stopped speaking to take a break, while Shadow stared intently and nervously at him.

"And as for Shadow, of course, you'll be the 'mediator' between us and the Maverick Hunters…the threat we know we need to face later on." Epsilon addressed Shadow's concerns. Hearing his role mentioned again, Shadow heaved a sigh of relief, before smiling wide.

"Don't sell us out, got it?" Botos said.  
"How's it gonna work well for them anyways?" Shadow spat. "Even if X and Zero were here, they'd be dead in seconds because of how outnumbered they would be."  
"Botos, quit it." Scarface reprimanded. "He came here to make a change for his own life."

"Changing lives, huh…" Shadow thought to himself as he relaxed on his seat, and looked up to the ceiling.

"Don't touch me!"  
A voice resounded in Shadow's head as a scene from a long time ago played in his mind.  
"No! There's so much more to life! Don't jump!" Shadow had urged the man standing a few meters in front of him to stop his mad intention to jump off a bridge.  
"I have no friends or family anymore…how can a reploid like you know how I feel?" the man growled.  
"I don't…but surely, there's a silver lining to everything! Don't give up!" Shadow tried to encourage him, as he stepped forward so he could restrain the man if he ever tries to jump.  
"It's because of machines like you that they all died! The Maverick Hunters didn't come to rescue…I had to be the one to run from those mavericks as they killed everyone! Metal monsters like you ended my world!" the man yelled at Shadow, who just froze in his tracks, never been so shocked all his life.  
"Why am I trying to reason with you anymore…?" the man whimpered, before jumping down the bridge.

As the man plummeted down from the bridge to the water below, Shadow could only futilely reach his hand out and scream.  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

He remembered breaking down in tears in his room in Far East HQ when he read the article of the man committing suicide in the middle of the night. The authorities had found his body and identified him as the only survivor of a maverick attack that occurred a few weeks ago. Many lamented his sad story, Shadow included. But then, the public started looking down on the Hunters…

"Shadow." Colonel Redips addressed him when he returned from a mission. "Are you alright?"  
"No, Colonel." he answered, his voice distorted by his own sobbing. "I'm not."

Shadow's helmet was broken, and his head was bleeding. His body armour was cracked and scratched all over, and he couldn't feel his right arm anymore.  
One year after the man's suicide, the missions he faced were still as hard, and he fought as hard. He still saved as much people as he could. And yet…

"I overheard one of those humans saying after the fight was over, that maybe, the Hunters should be replaced by police-controlled Preons…" Shadow sobbed. "I'm scared, Colonel. I don't have anywhere else to go if the Maverick Hunters are gone. I don't understand, Colonel, we're doing so much for them, and yet…"  
"I know, Shadow. I have it just as hard as you are." Colonel Redips assured.  
"Really? Really, Colonel?" Shadow sneered, his voice raised. Someone high up like him barely goes down to the front lines anymore, and he dare say that?  
"I do. And that's the reason why I fight. That's the reason why I've been setting my eyes on Force Metal." Colonel Redips explained. "If we could prove that we can evolve and improve like humans like to think they do, we'd wipe the floor with those damn Preons. And one day, we'll wipe the floor with those humans, too."

"Epsilon." Shadow spoke up, after a few seconds of reminiscing. "Why didn't you kill the humans in Giga City?" he asked.  
The Liberion went silent. Dr. Psyche and Ferham in particular glared at Shadow. Epsilon was stunned for a while, and then he smiled.  
"That's right…you never knew our story." Epsilon remarked. Upon hearing what he said, Ferham and Dr. Psyche calmed down.

"We did all this because they intended to kill us first." Epsilon went straight to the point. "We decided to fight back. We decided that in order to prevent the rest of reploidkind of being seen as either cattle or pests, we had to establish a reploid-only nation no matter what the cost." he continued.  
"Going straight to your question…if we killed those humans, they'll never see us as more than pests. We need to show the world that we are people, as much as humans are."

Yes, that was the word Shadow had wanted to hear.  
Not warriors, not rulers, not gods, not machines…

"People…" Shadow muttered. "Yes, that's what we all are in the end, right?" he remarked.  
"And that's why we're here now. Because we're people with hopes and dreams." Epsilon added.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** This chapter's quite a tear-jerking one. I never expected to develop Shadow this much, but I'm satisfied with what I have right now._


	43. Heavy Heart of Glass

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 43: Heavy Heart of Glass**

"You guys are leaving…to Giga City?" Bris stuttered out, standing in front of X and Zero.  
"Yes, we are…once Shadow's gathered enough intel." X huffed out. "I wish he could be faster…"  
"Ah, can I come…?" Bris spoke.  
Zero shook his head in response, a small frown on his face. "We're sorry, Bris. You can't. It's a really dangerous area, and you're just a B-rank. Even S-ranks like us aren't coming alone. Shadow's going to rendezvous with us in Lagrano when we get there, because we need his knowledge."

"But Axl's out there…" Bris weakly argued. "I don't want to leave him alone, and I…I don't want to be alone in here, either…"

Bris looked away after she spoke, recalling her days in HQ after the late Laurentia Myst brought her in. She remembered that the moment Axl saw her, he narrowed his eyes and stared daggers at her, gritting his teeth in utter disgust. It was a sight she could never forget. X and Zero had tried to get Axl to open up to her once it was revealed that she's his older sister, but Axl refused every time.

And then her hesitation to fight after being traumatized over the results of her power-drunk phase didn't help matters.  
X was the subject of a few unpleasant talks among HQ when he had that same hesitation, but he's "grown out of it". This time, those talks were directed at Bris. People kept speaking of how she has so much power she's not using, and how that power was better off for someone else instead.

That hesitation helped her get along with X, who is pretty much her only true friend in the world, with Zero following behind. But in the end, she is not as important to X as he is to her, because in the end, X is closer to Zero and Axl…

And now Axl's left. X and Zero are going to leave for a long time, too.

X just smiled a sad smile after hearing what Bris had said.  
"I wish we could take you with us, Bris. But the Hunters wouldn't allow a B-rank to be in such a dangerous mission. Not even A-ranks are allowed, not even new S-ranks are allowed." he explained.  
"But…just the two of you and Shadow? In a foreign territory without any Hunter Bases whatsoever? It's…illogical…!" Bris argued, anxiety causing her to raise her voice slightly.  
"We contemplated having more people in, but this isn't supposed to be a war." Zero huffed out. "If it was a war, Giga City would be decimated. Besides, the remaining reploids in Giga City can back us up. I don't think they like the Rebellion all that much."

"Which brings me to another point…the Rebellion! They…they're really dangerous…" Bris continued to argue, but her voice shrunk down when she spoke of the danger of the Rebellion. "I'll fight…I'll destroy Epsilon and his cronies…! Just…"  
"Will you, Bris?" X asked, prompting Bris to let out a small gasp.

Everyone knows that Bris is only willing to put down infected mavericks and mechaniloids. Even then, she has psychological difficulties retiring infected reploids. She is barely a B-rank because of her mental and psychological restrictions against fighting.

"If it's…for the people I love, then I…" Bris stuttered out, before hanging her head and sighing. "Am I…going to be a burden if I come…?" she mumbled.  
X heaved a long sigh as he tried to figure out what to tell her.

Frankly, yes, Bris would very much be a burden because he and Zero would constantly think of ways to make sure she doesn't die. But how could he trample on her already-fragile psyche?

X just smiled a sad smile before answering.  
"We'd like you to come too, Bris. Even pacifists will have that desire in them to kill whatever's threatening what's important to them—that primal desire to defend something important to you. I've been there. That's how I got here, and it'll take you places too.  
But right now, you're a B-rank. And the one who decides who gets deployed where isn't me, but the higher-ups. And according to the higher-ups, anyone below S-rank isn't allowed to go on this mission. And we can't fight that, because we're not part of the strategy division."

"We'll send your regards to Axl, okay? And we'll keep you posted on the mission to Giga City." Zero added, with a smile on his face—a smile that you'd show when you're telling a little kid that they can't come to wherever you're going, no matter how much they want to.

Bris just nodded and forced a smile at X and Zero. After all, X just said that they'd get her to go with them if they could, they just can't…

"I see…thanks, guys." Bris weakly thanked them. "See you later."

After that, she returned to her room and opened up her mobile phone, which showed the time as 3PM, before sending an instant message to Axl.

"Hey, Axl…this is me, Bris. I don't think you've saved my contact info, but anyways…take care, OK? At least hold out until X and Zero get there."

Bris bit her lip after typing that blurb. She wanted to say more, but what can she say? They haven't been talking for the last 5 years. What does she know about him, and what does he know about her? Will he even reply?

Nevertheless, she wouldn't know until she sent it. With that fact in mind, Bris tapped "Send" on her screen.

And then, the message was sent to the server.  
And then, the message was delivered to Axl's phone.  
Looking at that second notification, Bris waited, waited and waited for the app to tell her that Axl's read it.

Meanwhile, Axl had left the shop where he lived in, wearing his armour. His mobile phone was inside his container program, because he doesn't dare leave it at home. Running on the deserted roads of Giga City, he sensed the mobile phone ringing, and took it out.

"Ah, I forgot to turn it off." he muttered to himself before he turned his phone off without paying attention to the screen. "Who am I going to contact these days, anyways…"

"Ah."  
Bris blurted out, opening her eyes to see a lot of black, before making out the outline of the things in her room.  
Her room had gotten dark, and her mobile phone was still in her hand. She sat up and saw from the window that it was already evening, and her mobile phone showed the time as 8PM, and that Axl still hasn't read the message.

"I guess I'm crying myself to sleep again tonight…"  
Bris remarked, her voice slowly breaking, as teardrops formed.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** It's been a long time. I've been quite stressed out with my job, but I'm managing. I have the time, but barely any mental energy. It's only now that I get to type. The title was inspired by the mood songs of this chapter, "Heavy Wooden Box" and "Glass Heart Sphere", both Vocaloid songs by Machigerita-P. It's mostly "Heavy Wooden Box", though. Nevertheless, I combined both songs into a fitting title. "Heavy Wooden Box" was for Bris's portion, while "Glass Heart Sphere" was for X's portion._


	44. Tell Your World

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 44: Tell Your World  
**

It took me two months just to get close enough to Ulfat Factory to see it from a far distance. Public transportation is one of those things you take for granted…and I barely rested!

I only rested when I had no choice but to charge my phone, as it's the only thing connecting me to the outside world…to X, to Zero, to anyone who might just set foot in here. As much as I don't want them interfering, I have no way to face the Liberion and be confident that I WILL win. As much as I hate to admit it, the Liberion, especially Epsilon, can easily squish me like a bug…if I get hit, that is.

Especially Epsilon. He's fucking gigantic.  
But will he squish me like a bug? Who the hell knows. It hurts thinking that he's gonna die by the hands of maverick hunters…again.  
Dammit, Epsilon, why are you so stubborn?

But then again, now he has more power to support his stubbornness. Just a few weeks ago, I got e-mails from Jasmine…which I didn't reply to so she and her sisters don't pine for my return. But I read them nevertheless...

"Hey Axl,

Things might just look up. Central Tower was stormed by a group of reploids! It's led by the legendary warrior reploid Steel Massimo, with his disciples! They're big, with lots of weapons and fighting experience. As far as I know, none of the Rebellion has any legitimate fighting experience. I'm sure these brutes will lose!

Best of luck,  
Jasmine"

That first e-mail in the thread relieved me, but at the same time it worried me a lot. On one side, the Liberion's mad crusade to build a reploid-only utopia might just be stopped. On the other side, Epsilon was going to be killed like an animal.  
Was…

"Axl,

It's horrible. Steel Massimo's group was all eradicated. Only Steel Massimo himself survived. The others were just…ugh…I'm crying as I type…we can't even tell them apart anymore, it's so cruel! Even then, Steel Massimo was taken away by the Rebellion, the last time I saw him…

And then, just now, after Steel Massimo's group was defeated, one of the refugees ran away to Tianna Base to rescue Massimo…what a fool! He's going to die…

Axl, please, promise me you won't do anything that stupid, alright? I don't want…I don't want to see you dead…please return to us alive.

Best of luck,  
Jasmine"

Epsilon, I don't understand. What the hell kind of movement is this? You've driven out humans and prohibited them from entering Giga City, and now you're killing reploids. Are you back to the mentality you grasped when you were Lumine, Epsilon?

Not even the resulting reploid-only utopia can ever prosper if you use the blood of reploids to create it. But then again, who am I kidding? Humans themselves sacrifice each other to improve the world.

But are those sacrifices worth it for a better world? Loved ones die to pave the way to a better world. But what does it mean for the individuals who are condemned to live a lonely existence just so the rest of the world can live happily? Is that even fair?

Come to think of it, that's the point of the Maverick Hunters, wasn't it? Sacrifices made so that the rest of the world don't have to fight. God damn, why are people being sacrificed everywhere for the world? Hasn't it taken enough? Now I'm starting to understand Epsilon's way of thinking, but I'm still not going to compliment him for being a sacrifice for his vision for the world…once again. You didn't just sacrifice yourself, Epsilon, you took my heart away with you. You bastard.

Is this how the world works? Is it going to keep claiming lives to advance? The people who don't lose anything to the world are so very lucky…but how do they live knowing that their happy lives are paved by the blood of the sacrifices? Do they just not think about it? Or are they blissfully oblivious?

Ah, maybe it's a mixture of both…

"Welcome home?" I had teased Epsilon, back when he was still in my head.  
"I'm always home, Delta." he replied. "As long as I'm here. In your head."  
"Still, this was your old home, wasn't it?" I chuckled mentally again, looking up at the abandoned Jakob elevator construction site.  
"It's a fucking concentration camp." he answered, his voice thick with venom.  
"Haha, alright, alright." I relented, laughing to cheer him up.  
"Why the hell are we here anyway? This place gives me bad vibes." Epsilon spat.

"Well, you helped me find out more about myself and my work conditions," I replied. "So I want to find out more about yours, too."  
"Ah." Epsilon blurted out, the venom fading away from his voice. "Okay then, if…that's what you want."  
"Are you flustered?" I went back to teasing him after he stopped being grumpy.  
"Nnno. No. Except yes." he answered, sounding like an elementary school student.  
"Hah, you're so cute."

Having already ridden in the elevator, we skipped it and went for the offices instead, where Epsilon actually spent the first part of his life. He was barely allowed outside his workshop, but then he invented Stealth Mode and hacked the password of the door that locked him in.

"You never searched the offices?" I asked him as I looked around the administrative offices.  
"Too busy strategizing which site to strike next to." he mumbled. "And too busy trying to get you to our side, too."  
"But about half of your underlings didn't want the old prototype to join." I half-joked.  
"They didn't mind more manpower. They were just pessimistic, because you never felt the hell of working for 20 hours per day like we did." Epsilon responded. "They were right, though."  
"Is that…a bad thing?" I asked. I did end up decimating his forces without even trying to understand what they were going through, just because I wanted to get the job done and over with…  
"No, no, not at all!" Epsilon answered, laughing. "If anything, I'm happy that you never had to. Besides, I'm not saying you don't have any problems of your own. I've been in your head on missions, I know how badly you get injured for the sake of humans. Hell, I hit your head, and that's the reason why I'm here right now.  
True, you don't work for 20 hours like we did, but you were assigned to be ready to die every day. You didn't suffer the hell we did…but another hell.  
I guess you can say that right now, we're finally on Earth."

On the same Earth, under the same sky…but we're still so far apart.  
Epsilon, where are you?

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** While I was writing this chapter, I listened to Tell Your World, a Vocaloid song. Specifically, Hanasoumen-P/HSP's Bootleg Remix. It's so good, I think I'm addicted. This chapter had a different title, but then I looked at Tell Your World's lyrics, and found that it does fit with the chapter. I was wondering on whether I should keep the original title (Which I might recycle for the future. Might.) or change it. I decided to just change it so that there will be a jarring contrast between the optimistic-sounding title, "Tell Your World" and the depressing nature of this chapter._

 _Ah, it feels so good to write about Axl/Delta and Epsilon being together again, even if it was just a flashback. The story's strayed from the original premise for so long-it's on purpose, though, because canon. What, you want MMXCM to have a joke ending where Axl gets married with Epsilon on Central Tower? I dare you to imagine the awkwardness of the wedding night..._


	45. These Formless Feelings

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 45: These Formless Feelings**

"Epsilon…forgive me." Wild Jango stammered out, kneeling before me with his head hung. "One of the refugees escaped."  
"Tell me, what happened?" I gently responded. It's just one person. Besides, after the defeat of Steel Massimo's group, I doubt anyone would consider rebelling. Sure, we didn't exactly get away unscathed, but we pummelled the life out of them.

"I…well, I was on night patrol, as usual. But then I saw this reploid sneak out of Central Tower. Do you remember that reploid who refused when Scarface extended a hand to him to help him get up, after Silver Horn beat him when we came here? It's that guy. I chased him, but he kicked me right where Steel Massimo stabbed my leg during the fight earlier. It hurt so much, and I…" Jango explained, trailing off at the end.

Well, it can't be helped.

"It's alright, Jango. No one can blame you. You tried your best." I consoled him, because he really did.  
"Problem is, I heard rumours among the refugees that this guy was actually one of Steel Massimo's disciples, and that he was the reason why Massimo and his group were able to find us so easily, considering how far their dojo is from here." Jango huffed out. "Do you think my failure's going to screw us over in the long run?"  
"Well, Jango, think about this," I replied. "We beat Steel Massimo and his group. Sure, we got injured, but none of those injuries are mortal or permanent. Only Massimo himself lives, and even if that reploid who escaped really is part of them, do you think we can't repeat the same thing against two reploids as opposed to a dozen?"

"Ah." Jango blurted out. "I was panicking too much…thanks, Epsilon."  
"No worries." I responded with a smile. "You were just shaken after failure, is all."  
"It hurts to fail." Jango confessed. "Especially considering how insane our specs are. I feel like a big idiot."  
"I know it does, Jango, but it doesn't last." I chuckled. If there's anyone who knows about failing here, it's at least me.

"Have you heard anything else from the refugees?" I asked. Who knows what intel they might have? I admit, the absence of an internet connection in this place after the people maintaining them were driven out is quite upsetting. All we have are the bare minimum signals used to communicate.  
"Well…I know that the runaway apparently ran away to go off and save Massimo from Tianna Base. The idiot's going to get slapped to oblivion by Silver Horn, I suppose. And then three reploid sisters apparently has a former S-class maverick hunter as a contact, and it's motivating everyone else to call the Maverick Hunters." Jango explained.

A former S-class…it has to be Delta, isn't it?  
Maverick Hunters, how nostalgic. I can't deny how much they impacted my life, and now I'm probably going to see X and Zero again. But will I see Delta again? Will he kill me, like last time?  
But this time, I have no way to return to his head. I doubt he'd allow it. Even if he does, even if he's still intent on begging me to return, I won't. I don't have the right to, after how badly I hurt him…

"You've changed."  
"I missed you."  
"Let's run away from here, just the two of us."  
"Don't leave me."

The last words I heard from him the last time we met at Lagrano echoed in my head. It's been about two months since that time, and even now the memory of his sad voice and his pleading eyes is still vivid.

But Delta, have I really changed? I'm still the same rebellion leader, another threat to the current society who is to be destroyed by the Maverick Hunters, assuming everything goes to shit on my end.

Even so, I feel that liberating reploidkind from human discrimination really is my calling in life. I never liked the thought of you getting injured, returning home soaked in your own blood, battered in multiple places, for the sake of humans who never show thanks to you anyways. I never liked the thought of anyone else suffering the same fate, either. Even if you did it for the money or feeling of accomplishment, in the end it just supports the humans' behaviour.

But whether things are going to change really just hinges on whether I'll die in the end.  
Will it be you again, Delta? Will you be the one to land the killing blow, like last time?

But even if I die, Delta, if it's you who's going to kill me, I don't mind at all. If I lose, I want you to be the one to kill me. But if I win, I'm never letting you go; because in the end, I miss you too.

"The three sisters worry me a lot, Epsilon. "What do we do if we're stormed by maverick hunters?"

Ah, yes. Right. Back to reality.

"You forget, Jango, that we have Shadow in our ranks. And he's given us great intel on the Maverick Hunters." I replied.  
"How can we be so sure that he's not giving us false intel?" Jango questioned.  
"I can verify the info as true, myself." I answered. Of course I can. I've been with Delta for about a year, and he's gone on missions with X and Zero, duh. Whatever Shadow said was only a recap of what I already know.

"How can you be sure, Epsilon?" Jango pressed.  
"I've gone places and met people." I answered, without giving him my true answer. If I ever mention Delta…he'll be roped into this conflict, and that's the last thing I want.

But even then, he'll probably return to his old friends, and we'll probably return to being enemies, back when he was Axl and back when I was Lumine, and I won't blame him for it. After all, I'm a traitor to him, just like everybody else.

Delta, if I ever get the chance to, I hope that I can request for you to never forget that, in the end, I still love you, and that I'm so sorry for being an idiot for all this time.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Another sad chapter, this time focusing on Epsilon. Also another reminder that the basic premise of this story is basically a love story that indirectly shook the world. XCM will go on for like, say, 10 plus more chapters, I suppose. Again, I'm going to remind you that this isn't going to become a novelization of MMXCM. I'm only going to pay attention to the important scenes that will change, or be added on._


	46. The Devil's Fork is the Road

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 46: The Devil's Fork is the Road**

"So, Shadow, how's it going to be?" Redips spoke to his subordinate, Shadow listening to him through the mobile phone the Liberion had given to him to facilitate the double-agent duties.  
"The rendezvous point will be Lagrano. As we planned, X and Zero are the only ones who are gonna be there, since we're not aiming for a war, but an ambush. I'm going to get a few of the Rebellion's top guys. The bastards are so confident that they can take X and Zero on, so it's going to go swimmingly well." Shadow explained.  
"Can you tell me who exactly are you luring? We're going to need to prepare the best weapons to face each of them if we want to win. You know that, right?" Redips asked again.

"I can't, Colonel, don't you know that those monsters are eavesdropping on me? I heard Epsilon, the head honcho, has got heightened hearing capabilities since he was stuffed with Supra-Force Metal. If they find out…they're gonna kill me right here. There's only so much I can tell you without getting killed, myself." Shadow whispered, urgency dripping in his voice.  
Redips simply heaved a big sigh.  
"Shadow, you know I always trusted you with everything. But for some reason my gut feeling's telling me that I can't fully leave this to you, you know?" Redips confessed.

What Redips said has merit in it—because it's the first time Shadow's ever heard that.

"Colonel, I'm sorry! I…it's because I didn't hit the weak spot in time that the maverick destroyed my buster…" Shadow had apologised in his early days of being an A-class hunter under Colonel Redips.  
"It's alright, Shadow. I trust that you have done your best." Redips replied. "When you've gotten good enough, I'll get you a big cannon. But, well, you'll need to be good enough to make sure it's not going to be destroyed again." Redips continued, speaking like a father to his pre-teenage child.

"The cannon was destroyed?" Redips had parroted Shadow, a few months after the previous memory.  
"I'm sorry, Colonel…" Shadow apologised with his head hung. "The enemy was so fast. He got close to me before I could complete the charge. I'm…I'm really sorry. I let you down, didn't I…"  
Redips's lips curved into a small, sympathetic smile, and then he gently placed his hand on Shadow's shoulder.  
"Shadow, I know you're a normal person like everyone else. And normal people try their best not to make mistakes, or disappoint people. So it's alright." Redips gently consoled him.  
"Colonel, you're way too forgiving to me. I make so many mistakes. Are you sure I deserve this kind of trust?" Shadow questioned, looking away because he couldn't bear look his forgiving superior in the eye after his carelessness broke the cannon that was given to him.  
"We're people, Shadow. And people make mistakes. If everyone has to die just because they made a mistake, then everyone's got to die. And no one wants that kind of world. At the very least, I've got to forgive you; because even I've made mistakes." Redips explained. "It's alright, Shadow. I trust you."

And then, that moment came.

"Shadow." Colonel Redips addressed him when he returned from a mission. "Are you alright?"  
"No, Colonel." he answered, his voice distorted by his own sobbing. "I'm not."

"I overheard one of those humans saying after the fight was over, that maybe, the Hunters should be replaced by police-controlled Preons…" Shadow sobbed. "I'm scared, Colonel. I don't have anywhere else to go if the Maverick Hunters are gone. I don't understand, Colonel, we're doing so much for them, and yet…"  
"I know, Shadow. I have it just as hard as you are." Colonel Redips assured.  
"Really? Really, Colonel?" Shadow sneered, his voice raised. Someone high up like him barely goes down to the front lines anymore, and he dare say that?

"I do. And that's the reason why I fight. That's the reason why I've been setting my eyes on Force Metal." Colonel Redips explained. "If we could prove that we can evolve and improve like humans like to think they do, we'd wipe the floor with those damn Preons. And one day, we'll wipe the floor with those humans, too."  
"G-genocide?" Shadow stuttered out.  
The kind and gentle Colonel, suggesting something as appalling as genocide? No, he must have heard wrong, right? Colonel Redips may not be as active in the field after his promotion, but he's a kind, gentle and charitable person. Surely, his reason for funding the Supra-Force Metal experiment isn't genocide, right? It's to facilitate the development of technology for the betterment of everyone's lives, right?

"Yes, Shadow." Redips answered, the answer weighing in on Shadow's heart. "Genocide."  
"But why, Colonel? We're maverick hunters! We're not supposed to…do things like that…" Shadow weakly tried to argue.  
"No, we do things like that, Shadow. Every day." Redips replied. "We're paid to kill reploids, under the orders of the humans. They force us to kill our own species. And then you know what just happened to you, right, Shadow? Even after they force us into committing a special brand of genocide, they still have the guts to talk trash about us." Redips elaborated.  
"It's not right…" Shadow commented, his voice just as weak as before. It's not right to fight fire with fire. It's not right to fight hate with hate. In the end, it will balloon into a large-scale interspecies war…  
"Of course it isn't, Shadow." Redips replied, as he reached out his hand to place it on Shadow's shoulder—and then stopping himself when he realized that Shadow was too injured to appreciate the usual comforting gesture.  
"It's not right that they treat us like this. I've lived for so long…I kept fighting for them as a Hunter, hoping that they'll change their attitude towards us. But as you have known, it gets worse and worse. Eventually I just gave up."

"But why, Colonel?" Shadow asked. "Why did you give up?"  
"They've taken too much of my heart. I can't give anymore and they just keep on taking. I've lost so many comrades to this job. I came close to losing you, and you're the only one I can trust this much in a long time." Redips sadly answered. "I'm not letting the world take from me again."

Shadow bit his lip, his mobile phone still in his hand. He looked beside him to see Epsilon standing right beside him. He may have convinced the Liberion, but one wrong move might provoke Epsilon into grinding him into fine paste. And now, the Colonel…

And then, Shadow took a deep breath.

"Colonel…can you trust me that I won't let you down this time?" Shadow asked.

Redips went silent for a few seconds. To Shadow, those few seconds of silence felt like someone was stabbing his throat with dozens of needles. All this time, he's been showered by trust, and all this time, he's screwed it up as often. That was a risky move, but it had to be done. At least for this time, it's reasonable to bet that the Colonel can leave this to him after all, right?

"Our dream is to make sure humans don't mistreat us ever again, right? Can I trust you to share the same dream with me?" Shadow turned it around, trying to make it as if he's the one in the position of power.  
Redips let out a small chuckle from the other end of the line.  
"Of course. How could I forget?" Redips replied. "I'm sorry for having so little faith in you, Shadow. Ah, I'll have to apologise to X and Zero too. They're the legendary S-classes, always prepared for every occasion…too bad Axl's gone, but X and Zero's good enough for now."  
"Yeah. I know, right? Talk to you later, Colonel." Shadow responded before hanging up.

"So, what's it going to be?" Epsilon asked as Shadow shoved his mobile phone into his pocket. "I'm not going to try and sugarcoat it—you have enough resources to pick any side you want when the moment of truth comes. So how can you be sure I can trust you now, either?"  
"Colonel Redips wanted human genocide. I don't want genocide. You don't commit genocide. Is that line of logic good enough for you to conclude whose side I've decided to be on?" Shadow spat, admitting the truth.

"I'm sorry, Colonel." he whispered in his aching heart. "I'm sorry you can't trust me anymore."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** It's a gut-wrenching chapter. Probably the most gut-wrenching chapter in a while, at least to me._  
 _If you've been following my Author's Notes, you'll know I have a job. I'd like to correct it to "had", because I've resigned. Why? The company constantly forces its workers to work overtime without overtime pay. It wants me to work every day of the week, and wouldn't take no as an answer. But at the same time, it's composed of good people. They're nice and kind if we exclude work matters, they're just over-stretched and out of touch with reality. If we had met in a different setting, we'd have really liked each other._

 _This chapter is inspired by my situation with the company. I had been planning and plotting my resignation behind their backs. I broke out the news last Sunday, and it took the owner by surprise. He's a feelsy person, so I know he was being sincere when he told me he believed in me. While I'm leaving to save my own skin, I'm still leaving an over-stretched company filled with good-hearted people and causing their over-stretching problem to get even worse._

 _It's hard for me to hate them because I'm not exactly a saint in this equation. I'm small and inexperienced, and they trusted me with a demanding position. Because of how small I am and how big their demands are, I let them down. But they're no saint, themselves. They let me down too. We corroded each other's mental states. They didn't like how I couldn't manage the work they trusted me with, and I don't like how much they're trying to squeeze out of me. I could feel the sanity slipping out of me._

 _Regardless, sometimes the fork on the road feels like the fork of the devil. Some goodbyes are said triumphantly. Others are said tearfully. Some others are both. I'm happy to get the chance to live like a normal human again, but at the same time I know I let them down._  
 _In the end, I made the choice I knew was for the better. And believe me, it's not easy to sacrifice others to save your own skin. And that's why, sometimes, the fork on the road is the devil's himself._


	47. Catching Up To Me

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 47: Catching up to Me**

Redips slowly put his mobile phone down after his conversation with Shadow.

"What was I thinking, anyway?" he muttered to himself. "Someone like me...do I even have the right to demand trustworthiness?"

Maverick Hunters like him are never to tolerate bounty hunters. "Bounty hunters" is just a polite term to describe sellswords. Assassins. People like Red Alert, who kill other people for money, no matter what kind of person the target is. Guilty, innocent, young or old; who they are do not matter in the face of a paycheque...

"Wow, old man, you serious?" a bounty hunter with red eyes and a card deck in his hand had said to Redips, years ago.  
"You're not going to sell us out, are you?" his partner, another reploid with yellow armour with a pouch in his hand, added.  
"I'm trying to make a deal with you two here," Redips responded, "Spider, Aile. Like I said, if you give me a cut of what you're making, then I can give you even better equipment. You get more clients, we get more money. Plus I'll get the Hunters to think you don't exist."

"Who the hell are you? Do you think you can give us that kind of protection?" Spider, the red-eyed bounty hunter with the cards spat, his eyes narrowed.  
"Hey, how do you think I got the money to give you this armour, Spider, and Aile, your weapon?" Redips answered, aggravated, gesturing at the chips inside the pouch that he had given to Aile. "I'm not some grunt, and I wasn't created rich, either. If I was rich from the get-go, would I even be in the Hunters, risking my life for shitty humans? I worked hard to get here."  
"Yeah, right. You worked hard. But you're also getting taxpayer money funneled into your pocket. So why do you need us to work hard for you, if you're so hardworking?" Aile questioned, his eyebrows raised.  
"Because the best I could do wasn't good enough for a salary good enough for me to achieve my goal." Redips answered. "There. Is it enough for you to trust me?"

"Alright, I guess with this..." Spider replied, gesturing at the chips that Redips had given them, "And your logical reasoning, I can trust you enough. But if you sell us out, you can trust us to survive and cut your sorry throat. Got it?"  
"Got it. Now, about my bank account number..."

As the memory played in his head, Redips walked towards his safe, and unlocked it to reveal important documents, stacked neatly inside.  
He reached inside the safe to pull out a laminated sheet, and solemnly stared at it.  
It was a newspaper clipping. To be exact, it was the front page of a newspaper.

Right under the KIDO Journal logo was the headline, written in big, bolded capital letters: "Bounty Hunters Wiped Out Single-Handedly by Hero Maverick Hunter".

"The former S-class hunter Axl didn't start out a trainee that spent his early life in the Maverick Hunters. Before he was a hunter, the New-Gen prototype had to prove himself by defeating Red Alert, the bounty hunter faction he was a part of. Instead of proving himself through tests and interviews, he proved himself by performing feats most hunters could only dream of having the courage to even attempt.

And now, it appears someone has inherited his legacy.

Redips, who will soon be Colonel Redips in a few months from now, is also a New-Gen. Unlike Axl, he was created after the New-Gen purge that resulted after Jakob. He was very young at the time; however, his skill, cunning and dedication eventually led him to heroism not unlike Axl's.

'He was always hardworking,' his superior, Jericho, commented. 'We watch him prove his dedication every day, and when he's officially appointed as Colonel, I will look at him with respect, like I always do.'

Redips had tirelessly located and investigated the two bounty hunters he retired: Spider and Aile. They had been living off blood money for about 4 years, and Redips single-handedly attempted to put an end to it.

However, why did he decide to do it alone? Why didn't he get his team to help?

'I would have wanted to,' Redips had answered when KIDO Journal approached him on this matter, 'But if we chase them and start a cat-and-mouse game, it's going to be much harder to catch them.  
My solution? To be the cheese to their mice. That way, I can get the most information out of them. I get to know their strengths and weaknesses in the best way possible.'

'I'll be honest, we were quite mad at him when he admitted what he had tried to pull off from under our noses,' Jericho, who was with Redips at the moment, further commented, 'But in the end, we know where his loyalties lie. Just like us, he lives for the greater good of society, and is willing to take risks and make sacrifices so that the common people don't have to.'

Axl's resignation shocked the world, but at the same time, it was a deserved rest for a hero who had dedicated 11 years of his life to keeping the world safe. We had waited for someone else to inherit his spirit; now that Redips is here, we no longer need to wait."

"What the hell are you doing?" Spider yelled at Redips on the day he turned on them. "What the fuck happened to trust, huh?" he added, shooting cards at him.  
"We should've known! We shouldn't have been so stupid!" Aile roared, shooting at Redips.

However, Redips knew the gear he had given them more than anyone. He had the right weapon—a saber that disintegrate the cards with one swipe, and the right shield that would deflect Aile's buster shots.  
Spider and Aile are like monkeys throwing peanuts at a brand spanking new warship at that point.

"I gave you your protection. Who said it was going to last forever?" Redips answered, his tone matter-of-factly. "Didn't you enjoy a good life while it lasted? I didn't lie when I said we both profited, didn't I?"  
Spider gritted his teeth. Of course he didn't lie. He and Aile attracted tons of clients, and made tons of money from the gear Redips had supplied them. The gear made them kill more efficiently. They were able to kill in more grandiose manners too, to please the clients who want more of a show. In the end, they were flooded with request after request. Some requests were even sent from multiple people who gathered their money to hire them for one job.

But in the end, if there's a phrase that is timeless, even if it embodies the exact opposite of the concept of timelessness, it is "this too shall pass".

"I wonder, is karma going to catch up to me?" Redips muttered as he slipped the laminated newspaper clipping into his safe. "Is my true lack of trustworthiness going to catch up to me?" he added, a bit louder, as if he was talking to someone; but he's all alone in his office.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Another tear-jerking chapter, also inspired by my predicament with the company I recently resigned from. This company is an international company, attracting clients all over Asia and even the Middle East. And they're not small-time people-they're big time developers and hotel operators. _

_I was confused as to why people aren't lining up to work at this company, and why there isn't a lot of staff (Less than 15 people!), and why there are only two staff members that stayed for more than 5 years-the GM (8 years), and the owner (20-30 years-he's the owner and founder). Besides them, the most senior staff member has only been there for 1 year and 4 months._

 _4 months of suffering under this company, I finally found out why the company is horrible at retaining staff. And worst of all, the owner isn't young anymore and he's desperate to have the staff be good enough to replace him-to be able to go on and run the company without him._

 _In a way, I suppose, his unintentionally inhumane employment practices slowly catch up to him. Maybe he didn't exactly establish this practice. Maybe it's the GM, or someone else no longer with the company. But either way, he let this happen because he likes the results that are produced by this practice, but the price of this practice is slowly catching up to him._

 _But I can't exactly laugh at him or the company. It's hard to hate people who are, although cut off from a few realities of this world, inherently kind at heart. He's not forcing everyone to work while he sits around receiving money-he works harder than everyone else, and, for good reason, he wants everyone to be like him, to be able to be as good and successful as he is, so that the company can stand as tall as it is now._  
 _However, it's not right to turn people into you, no matter how good you are. Not all animals are meant to stand on top of Mount Everest. Some of us are better off exploring the deepest parts of the Mariana Trench._

 _Either way, I find the last sentences heart-punchingly powerful, as an illustration. I hope it's the same way for you, too._


	48. Burning Bridges

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 48: Burning Bridges**

"The signal's crap here, isn't it..." X huffed out, when the amphibicopter he was sitting in is close enough to Giga City for him to be able to see it from the distance.  
"That's why you need me here." Shadow replied. "The original plan was for us to rendezvous in Lagrano...but both the Colonel and I don't want to risk it."  
"So you went all the way back to port just to pick us up?" Zero guffawed. "Thanks, Shadow."  
"Don't thank me. Thank the pilot." Shadow chuckled.

Pallette, who was operating the copter, giggled.

"So what's this about not wanting to risk it?" Zero asked. "What in blazes is with the Rebellion, anyways?"  
"Do you know that one of their three most elite can fly?" Shadow answered, and smirked when he saw the shocked expression in Zero's face, but that goldfish face-like expression didn't last long.  
"You mean, like Axl?" Zero sneered. "If it's similar to Axl, then—"  
"No, actually being airborne for however long she likes. If I recall correctly, Axl can only hover temporarily unless he copies someone who can actually fly, right?" Shadow countered, and smiled at Zero when he bit his lip, his smile as if saying, "you're pretty pathetic right now".  
"We've faced enemies like that before, so we wouldn't be exactly helpless," X explained as the memory of a comrade he had to retire a long time ago returned to him, "But I thank you for your concern."

"You're welcome. We can't afford for you guys to fail, anyways." Shadow replied.  
"The Colonel said earlier that if we fail, a full-scale assault is going to be launched..." Zero sighed. "Damn, it really weighs in on you."  
"Is it why Axl retired?" X muttered.  
While not exactly a heartless, self-serving jerk, Axl isn't exactly altruistic or self-sacrificial, nor does he harbour a particular dedication to the world. Regardless, no one can blame him for not wanting to carry the weight of the world's welfare on his back…  
"Sorry, did you say something?" Shadow asked, raising his eyebrows.  
"Ah." X blurted out. "No, nevermind."

Zero let himself frown for a split second. Five—no, almost six years, and X hasn't been dealing with Axl's retirement very well. Sure, they keep in touch, and Zero's fine with that—knowing that he's alive and happy somewhere gives him inner peace. But the hole in X's heart, it seems, is still as Axl-shaped as it used to be when Axl first announced his resignation.

While it's quite sad, Zero can't blame him for it. After all, he's not the only one longing for the moment they can fight together again, as a trio…

"Oh, shit!" Zero blurted out. "Hey, there's still signal here, right? We gotta contact Axl and tell him we're coming!" he cried out.  
"Ohhhh dammit! I completely forgot about that!" X cried out too, laughing afterwards. "My mood was so sour…I'm taking out my phone."  
"Beat you to it." Zero sneered, showing his mobile phone in his hands.  
"Guys, there's mobile phone signal in Giga City." Shadow explained, his eyebrow twitching. It's quite…jarring to see the S-class hunters act like children, making a race out of contacting an old friend.  
"Doesn't matter." Zero chuckled as he typed in an instant message.  
"Zero, you type like a senior citizen." X commented, before proudly showing the screen of his mobile phone, revealing that he's sent the first IM.  
"And you type like a 13-year old human child." Zero shot back, noticing the spelling mistakes in X's IM, before sending his own IM, which was flawless in its spelling and grammar.  
"Oh dammit!" X guffawed. "Ah well, we won and we lost. What matters is that Axl reads them in the end."

Shadow's lips curved into a gentle smile after watching a heartwarming display of friendship. Even after Axl's left the Hunters for almost six years, they still value him as if he had been there for all that time.

"You lost…everyone too, huh…" Shadow remarked weakly, after Colonel Redips told him his story some time ago.  
"Yes, Shadow. I'm no stranger to failure." Redips affirmed, his tone somber. "Sometimes, looking back at how much I failed and how I am now, the journey feels empty."  
"Why, Colonel? You were a hero when you took out those two bounty hunters." Shadow questioned.  
"Yes, but I lost the people who believed in me, and the people I believed in to get here. Do you know why I got a distinction? Because I outlived everyone else assigned with me numerous times. I'm not saying that I'd rather be dead, of course not. I…I wish they survived." Redips explained, his somber tone intensifying with every word.  
"If someone else from my life had become Colonel instead of me, I would have been fine with that. What matters more is that someone lived. I don't want to keep losing people. I mean, death and loss are parts of life that you can't avoid, but I want to keep someone, at least one person."  
"I promise I'll be here, Colonel! I'll be strong, so that you won't be alone anymore. And you…survive, too, because I feel the same way…I don't want to be alone anymore, either." Shadow declared.  
"Well, I'll keep your word for it." Redips chuckled—he had heard those words from many a comrade numerous times, and he had hoped to be able to hear the voices that said those words long ago at this moment, only for those hopes to be dashed away a long time ago. Will his hope for Shadow be dashed, too?

"We? Join you? Don't be ridiculous, maverick. You're not getting out of here alive, anyways. This is three versus one, you crazy gorilla!" Zero sneered at Epsilon, who had just solicited them to join his forces once they've reached Lagrano.  
"Three? Versus one?" Epsilon chuckled, before his eyes moved towards Shadow, who was standing beside Zero.

The cue having been given, Shadow quickly sliced Zero's shoulder joint with his sword-arm.

"Who's ridiculous now?" Epsilon chuckled again, his grin getting bigger at the sight.  
"I'm sorry, Colonel…everyone." Shadow thought to himself. "We're all pieces of shit who don't have enough things in common."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Is it just me, or are these chapters cleaving my heart? Then again, these chapters are inspired by my feelings in regards to my resignation from the company. My last day with them is Sept 16. Facing everyone after the hurt we had dished at each other will be a chore because we know that we don't have to bear with each other anytime soon, so there's no use putting on a nice face._

 _However, there are-or were people who believed in me. There are people who_ _cared about me. There are people who failed me, whom I failed. The owner and the GM were used to seeing people come and go. But when the owner and I had a one-to-one talk and I remarked that he's used to saying goodbye, he said he doesn't like to say goodbye and that he's not used to it-he does it only when the employee in question is unbearable to him, and he doesn't see me that way. He seems genuine, but for the people who think he's just bluffing, I'd still like to think that he was being sincere.  
After all, in his 20-30 years of owning the company, it's not illogical to think that he wants to be able to keep at least one person. Well, he's gotten his wish with the GM who's been there for 8 years, but because he's no longer young, now he desperately wants to be able to keep more than one.  
_

 _If he really was, then I dashed his hopes. Granted, my own hopes were dashed too. I hoped to be able to stay as a part of the company too, like the GM, but in the end I couldn't. Our hopes were both dashed, because we didn't have enough things in common. Namely, unlike everyone else in my company, I can't work during the weekends without given overtime pay, just like my former co-worker who resigned about a month before I did. All the work mentally wore me out, and that in turn affected my performance. Because of how much we don't have in common and how close we had to be, we ended up hurting each other because there wasn't an option to agree to disagree._

 _I used to think that working is as simple as doing your job well. But reality proved me wrong. Compatibility plays a part too._  
 _Everyone, who has yet to work or experience this kind of thing, please take note of this. Don't make the same mistake as I did._


	49. Cleaving Hearts

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 49: Cleaving Hearts**

"Hey, Axl. I must have worried you sick, hahah.  
I'm so sorry if I did. I…well, I have bad news for you.

Soon after I arrived with Zero and Shadow in Lagrano, Epsilon and his cronies ambushed us. Shadow betrayed us…he hurt Zero's arm, and then the Rebellion guys punched him out. I was all alone, surrounded by 4 reploids. I had to escape, and now I don't even know if Zero is alive or dead…

I was rescued by the refugees in Central Tower. We just managed to beat one of those assholes, a reploid called Wild Jango. We retook Central Tower, restored the internet connection, and freed a government official called Chief R, and we're going to look for their operator Nana very soon.

I'm not alone, though. I met a bounty hunter named Spider who helped me take down Wild Jango while I was fighting my way through Central Tower.

Oh, speaking of companions! I rescued Jasmine, Cumin and Saffron and they wouldn't stop asking me about you. They said you haven't been replying to Jasmine's e-mails, so I'm telling you this on my stead. Can you tell me something or tell them something so they can have some closure?

I trust that Zero will be alright…damn, even after all this time, I can't help but worry about him, you know? I'm pretty sure you're quite worried too. Given that I know what the Rebellion is capable of…well, Axl, I'm going to need to ask you to stay put until the three of us are together again.

None of us can face those monsters alone. I've gotten hurt. Zero's gotten hurt. I don't want you to be next, and I know how capable we are. These people are on an entirely different level. I don't know why you're insisting on talking them down, but…if you're really sure it's going to work, it would be great. But please, Axl, don't do anything stupid. Stay safe, alright?

See you soon,  
X"

Two days have passed since I received X and Zero's instant message that stated their arrival in Giga City. And then I received this e-mail from X, while I was making my way to Ulfat Factory.

Is this going to happen again? I'm going to have to kill Epsilon with X and Zero again? Well…I guess I can't say that the circumstances are exactly the same. I wasn't so close with Epsilon when it started, and Epsilon was Lumine the first time around.

But still, the fucker's gonna die again, after wrecking havoc again. Will he ever learn?

I suppose he's abandoned everything we built together. All those 5 years have gone up in flames for him, and he's made it obvious. He punched out Zero, and probably killed him. I suppose the mercy he gave me was only a one-time thing. The next time I approach him, he'll kill me like any other maverick hunter, and I know it.

He's ditched me. He's ditched our life together with the goodbye he said a few months ago. And for what? For a gamble he's betting his life on? The life he owed me to enjoy?

Is it all worth nothing for you compared to the happiness of all the strangers in the world?

Well, it may be worth that much for you, but it's not worth that little for me, Epsilon. You bastard. If you've decided to love the world more than me, I might as well ditch you, you asshole.

Oh, look at me. I'm fussing more about a traitor than I am for X and Zero, as well as Jasmine, Cumin and Saffron. I'm fussing more about the one who dumped me away than I am for the friends who never abandoned me even after I've chosen to leave them. What kind of horrible bastard am I to feel this way?

But still, betrayal hurts. Even moreso when I don't have anyone to confide in about this subject. What, I'm telling someone, anyone in this world that I was affiliated with the criminal rebellion leader, Epsilon? That's suicide. A particularly painful one, that kills not only you, but also your legacy.

Epsilon's made this choice to push me away to suffer this pain. Why am I not making the same choice? It's impossible to choose him over X and Zero now. He's started hitting and shedding blood…it's impossible for me to talk him down over his stupid attempt to liberate the whole reploid race.

Why didn't I make this choice sooner when he beat up Massimo's gang, and drove away the humans? Oh, right…it's because I'm a selfish asshole.

I should at least make up for what I've done…I'm going to sneak into Ulfat to try and make things easier for X and Zero by fucking up the manufacture of the Preons that are being used for the Rebellion's purposes, but before that…

"Hey, Jasmine.

I heard from X. I'm sorry I haven't been replying to your mails. I must have been worrying you, Cumin and Saffron.

I got them all. I just…couldn't reply at the time. I figured that it was quite dangerous at the time, but it's gotten safer thanks to X. We owe him, huh? I can't communicate with you often since I'm doing…something. Something dangerous, of course, but not stupidly dangerous for someone like me. So I'll be alright. But don't tell X, please?

I'm working towards the extermination of the Rebellion. They've done a great deal of damage to Giga City, and honestly, they're really ungrateful by behaving this way. Their power was only made possible by Giga City, and now they've ruined the whole place and the innocent lives in it. I can't let that happen. But I suppose you guys know that already, hahah.

Anyways, I'm glad you're all safe and sound, even while Central Tower was still under Rebellion control. I'll keep myself safe. And as for you guys…stay safe too, alright?

Axl"

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** It's been more than a month. Haha, long time no see! I had been busy with work before my resignation, buying a new computer and piecing myself back together. I listened to Jane Zhang's Painted Heart while I was writing this, but it's not exactly the official mood song of the chapter, so I kept it down here instead of putting it up before the chapter starts.  
As for BMG's questions, X wasn't in his XCM armour when Axl/Delta left. But for the second question? I'll answer that when X and Delta meet in Ulfat Factory. c;_


	50. Blood Trail

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 50: Blood Trail**

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Holy shit, it's been almost 2 months. Sorry everyone, I'm back! So I had been anxious over not having been able to sign my letter of appointment, and then had to deal with house renovations (that are still going on now), and then with the job itself that started two weeks ago (I'm still training tho) and I got sick and got better today. I also drew quite a lot, struggled with artistic prowess quite a bit, but I'm bouncing back!_

* * *

"Damn it!" Epsilon shouted as he slammed his fist on the wall, the loud banging sound causing Scarface, Ferham and Botos to flinch. Shadow took it one step further and covered his head with his hands.

"E-Epsilon…" Scarface stuttered out. "What…"

"We just started, yet we've already lost Jango, and now Silver Horn…" Epsilon answered, facing the wall instead of his companions, almost sobbing. "And all it took is just one bloody reploid! If only we had killed X that time…"

"Look, we got cocky…" Ferham tried to calm Epsilon down, but…  
"I didn't want it to lead to this! Now two of our friends are dead!" Epsilon screamed out. "Nothing's going to bring them back…"  
"I know that! You think you're the only sad one over all of this?" Ferham yelled back. "But moping around isn't gonna help anything. Either you mope and surrender before more of us die, or you fight to make sure their deaths aren't in vain." she continued.

"Ferham's right, you know. This isn't over yet." Scarface added. "It's only over if we end it. Besides, if we surrender, we're all gonna die anyway."  
Epsilon heaved a long sigh before turning back to face Scarface, Ferham, Botos and Shadow. "You're right…I'm sorry. We can grieve, but it must not interfere with our cause. At least Jango and Silver Horn died free, not as a slave to the humans' whims. So, what do we have left?" he said as he wiped his tears.

"I heard everything." Dr. Psyche's voice was heard from the neighbouring room. "One moment."

Shortly afterwards, Dr. Psyche entered the same room the others are in to face them for a proper conversation.

"Oh yeah, you're supposed to recruit Gaudile for us, right? Or at least get his Force Metal Generator?" Botos mentioned.  
"Yeah. He's blocked all our e-mail addresses, but I'm not giving up. So I'm going there to make sure he doesn't shove me away again." Dr. Psyche said.

Epsilon bit his lip upon hearing that.  
"Hey, Dr. Psyche…be careful, alright?" he said.  
Upon hearing that, Dr. Psyche tensed and looked away. "Look, I can't guarantee if X's guys aren't going to come after me or try to recruit Gaudile and crash into me on the way, but…I'll try not to die."  
Epsilon hung his head for a few seconds before lifting it back up. "Just…be careful." he said.  
"Hahah. Yes sir." Dr. Psyche guffawed. "Even if I die later, remember that I will die with pride. If there's anything we've learned, it's that if we are prepared to kill, we also have to be prepared to die."

"That's deep, coming from you." Scarface remarked. "Where did you get it from?"  
"Life, maybe?" Dr. Psyche answered. "See you soon, guys." he said before stepping away, waving to the others as he leaves the room.

"H…hey." Shadow spoke up soon after Dr. Psyche left. "I just…came up with something. No matter how powerful X and Zero are, if we overwhelm them with sheer numbers alone, why not manufacture more Preons to just pile on them?"

"That's…a simple, but a very good idea." Ferham remarked, tilting her head. "What do you say?"  
"It's worth trying." Scarface replied. "Epsilon, what about it?"  
"I don't mind. After all, once you immobilize someone, they can't shoot, can they?" Epsilon answered.

Without wasting a moment, Ferham activated her communicator before putting it on loudspeaker, and starts to contact Jentra for a quick call.

"Hello, Ferham?" Jentra replied. "What is it?"  
"How's Ulfat going? We need to manufacture more Preons. Shadow over here came up with the idea of surrounding X and Zero with the lot of them. Numbers, my friend. Get it?" Ferham explained.  
"Ah." Jentra blurted out. "Well. We're quite busy putting out the fire burning our pants right now. Our security guards have been dropping dead one by one, and a survivor kept raving about an invisible sniper."  
"What the fuck?" Ferham blurted out.  
"Holy shit." Epsilon followed.  
"What kind of bullshit is that?" Botos questioned.  
"I…I have no words." Scarface said.  
"Can you tell me more…about that invisible sniper?" Epsilon stuttered out. "It's got to be Delta," he thought.  
"Hold on, let me get him." Jentra said, and put the call on hold. As the "call on hold" music plays, Epsilon, Ferham, Scarface, Botos and Shadow listened anxiously.

"C-Commander Epsilon! Finally! Someone who'd listen! Please, you've got to believe me! Everyone says I'm crazy!" the survivor raved.  
"Hey, can you turn down the volume? It's my ears the communicator's connected to." Ferham complained.  
"Ah…Commander Ferham, sorry. But still, you've got to listen to me, please…" the survivor pleaded.  
"A-alright, alright." Epsilon said. "Don't worry, tell me everything you know. It must've been tough."  
"So I was part of a large group protecting the gate, when all of a sudden we heard something break. It was the security camera. We were investigating who broke it when two of us dropped. And then, two more. I was lucky enough to not be targeted the first two times, so I was able to see where the shots were coming from.  
I kept running around in circles to make it harder for the sniper to target me, but then he fired a large fucking round and utterly obliterated my one remaining comrade. That fucking round came literally out of nowhere! All of a sudden, I saw a big thing launched towards us and then, boom!  
I got lucky and only my armour was damaged, but then I heard walking sounds and the next thing I know, my foot was crushed! I lost my footing, and then he started beating me up like some thug down the street!" he testified.

Epsilon tensed, and Shadow's eyes widened at the survivor's testimony.

"It's…undoubtable. It's former maverick hunter Axl." Shadow declared.  
"WHAT?" the survivor yelled.  
"Heeey!" Ferham cried out.  
"Sorry…" the survivor apologized again. "But…seriously?"  
"Seriously. I was a rookie back from before Jakob, and shortly after the crisis, there was a huge deal over he suddenly developed the ability to turn white and invisible. I got to see it for myself a few times, and no one else has got that ability except for him." Shadow explained.

"Whaaa—" the survivor was about to scream, when…  
"Sssh." Mach Jentra shushed him by placing his fingers over the survivors' lips.  
"Thanks, Jentra." Ferham replied.  
"Anyways, can that ability be circumvented somehow? Radars, cameras, anything?" Jentra asked.  
"Not as far as we know of. The Hunters tested all their detection devices on that ability, but nothing detected it." Shadow answered.  
"Dear god." Jentra remarked. "I'm sorry. You weren't crazy." he apologised to the survivor.  
"I told you…" he muttered.

"Either way, I'm thankful for this information. At least we know to tighten our defences." Epsilon thanked the survivor.  
"Yeah…you're welcome." the survivor replied.  
"Since he's a New-Gen, he's probably infiltrated this factory. I'll manufacture more Preons as per Shadow's plan, and I'll also try to take him." Jentra declared.  
"Dead or alive?" Epsilon asked.  
"Either way will do. We can try to recruit him, but I'm not optimistic." Jentra answered.  
"I say we take him alive." Epsilon decided.

"Epsilon. What." Ferham blurted out, with a flat tone of voice.  
"He's probably known that X and Zero are out to get us. Are you sane?" Botos questioned.  
"Can you explain yourself?" Scarface asked.  
"Do you know about the global purging of New-Gens soon after Jakob?" Epsilon answered with a question.

"Eh…" Ferham blurted out again.  
"Uh, no…something like that happened?" Scarface replied.  
"I've only heard of it as a passing mention…" Botos admitted.  
"I do, though…" Shadow answered. "Are you saying he has a reason to hate humans because he survived that sweeping?"

"Precisely." Epsilon confirmed. "Every New-Gen created before Jakob were killed except for him, just because the humans decided to blame it on the false assumption that the DNA data of reploids gone maverick can actually infect New-Gens. Besides, he retired for a reason. We can convince him to join us, or at least get out of the way." he explained.

"Hmmm…alright. But if he refuses, I'm killing him." Jentra replied.  
"I understand." Epsilon said. "I just…don't want…any more deaths."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** It's been a long time since I wrote a third-person perspective chapter for Epsilon's side. I intended to revert to Epsilon's perspective in the middle of writing, but then I realized that this shows his internal conflict better anyways._


	51. Recurring Nightmares

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 51: Recurring Nightmare**

"It's been so long!" X beamed as he, Zero and Axl walked in Central Tower after Nana successfully teleported them. "Man, you two worry me a lot, you know that?"

Zero chuckled. Of course he knows. He knows that more than anyone. Axl, on the other hand…

"Really?" he replied with a coy smirk.

"Of course. When you couldn't communicate some time ago, I freaked, you know? I was cut off from Zero, and then you. Why didn't you tell me when you were going deeper into Ulfat, where the signal's crap?" X responded.

"Ooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Axl. How could you do that to X?" Zero teased.

"Ah—I um. I didn't mean to, I didn't…um. I didn't pay attention to the signal in my phone, and all of a sudden, I checked my phone and I was like, 'shit, dude, I'm totally i-so-la-ted!' and then I just told myself, 'ah, hell' and carried on…" Axl ranted, with a vivacious tone that hasn't come out of him for some time.

Is it returning? Is his "true self" returning? Is everything returning to how it was supposed to be? The three of them, fighting together, being best friends…  
Is it how it's really meant to be? Then, those times he spent with Epsilon—

"Zero, he takes after you." X playfully grumbled.  
"What, are we his parents, now?" Zero shot back, with a coy grin of his own.  
"Look at your dumbass grin, it looked just like Axl's when he went 'reeeeeeeeeeealleh?'" X retorted.  
"Then you're the odd one out again, X. Right, Zero? Fuck you, X." Axl joked.  
"HAH! Fuck you, X." Zero added.  
X just stuck out his tongue in response.

"Well, I'm going to introduce you two to the people that have helped me get this far…" X said as soon as they arrived in front of the command room door, which he opened as soon as he finished speaking.

Axl's eyes bulged as soon as he caught sight of none other than Professor Gaudile, who glared at him when he saw him.

"YOU!" Axl shouted, pointing at Gaudile.  
"What do you want?" Gaudile coldly growled.  
"Professor, what's going on?" Cinnamon squeaked.  
"Hey, what the hell?" Marino complained. "You trying to start a fight?"

"Ggggh…why the hell are you here?" Axl asked.  
"That's my line! You couldn't even do anything to those Force Metal-pumped freaks! Because of you, Tezuka died!" Gaudile shouted in response.  
"Excuse me? The one who decided to hit first was you! You were the one who threw that weird-ass flashbang grenade!" Axl defended himself. "What kind of part did I play in Tezuka's death, huh? Like I know the reasons behind it!"

Gaudile swallowed. He was the one who let Tezuka get herself killed…she was the one who came up with such a suicidal strategy, and he let her do it anyways. He was the one who escaped, who lived instead of her. But the reason Tezuka had to come up with something like that in the first place was…

"If you actually managed to, you know, pacify or retire those monsters, we wouldn't have to resort to such drastic methods!" Gaudile argued.  
"Why the fuck are you blaming me for your own idiocy? You didn't even know what was happening, and you threw a fucking bomb at them, of course they're pissed!  
And the whole struggle? It's your fucking fault that you decided to just up and kill them even if they haven't gone maverick yet, just in case they would! Then if you're gonna kill them like animals anyways, why bother making those so-called 'Force Metal-pumped monsters' in the first place, you idiot?" Axl ranted.

X and Zero could do nothing but freeze as the unexpected verbal fight ensued, revealing a few truths as it progressed. Axl was involved? And what really happened before the whole crisis, that caused it in the first place…?

"Professor…? You…what…" Cinnamon stuttered, having heard a few ugly truths about her father.  
"Cinnamon…it's alright." Gaudile tried to gently pacify his daughter.

"I did what I had to do. It was a government order. I had faith in them. Former maverick hunter Axl, wouldn't you have done the same? You should understand…" Gaudile tried to appeal to Axl's morals.  
"So you decided to take reploids away from the streets, from loving communities, just to stuff them with shit you're gonna kill them over, just because the government told you to? Spare me your pretty words. If there's anything I learned from my job, it could've been orders from fucking Sigma!" Axl retorted.

"The two of you…" X interrupted the conversation. "It's enough. Please."

Both Axl and Gaudile turned to look at X, surprised by the unexpected response.

"Look, I don't know what happened. I don't know what truly caused this crisis, but…let's not fight like this? We're…on the same side, right?" he assured.

Axl bit his lip. Him? On the same side with the fucker who caused the shitstorm in the first place?  
Gaudile gently closed his eyes to calm down. That's it. His faults have been exposed in front of his comrades. Having Psyche confront him over it was bad enough…

"It's not over, Gaudile." Psyche had said to him when he invaded his laboratory. "I'm still mad about what happened, but it doesn't mean we can't work out our differences."  
"Psyche, spare me your pretty words. I know you just want me on your side." Gaudile countered.  
"I do, but I'm willing to put my grudge aside, so I can stand working with you again. You tried to kill me. Who wouldn't get angry? You were my friend!" Psyche replied.

Gaudile wasn't sure which was more uncomfortable—Axl's hostility towards him, or Psyche's "pretty words"?  
It doesn't matter right now. One hates him; the other hated him, and carried that hatred to his grave.

"Right." Gaudile said, "But remember, the ones who decided to react so violently were those Force-Metal monsters you tried to defend." he sniped at Axl.  
"Professor Gaudile has a point. They ransacked Giga City, and that's why we're here in the first place…that's what matters most." Chief R added. "I don't want any infighting. It'll dissolve morale and make us more susceptible to their attacks. Are we clear?"

"Tch…alright, I get it." Axl hissed.

"I think…" Zero spoke, "I'm going to get out of here and find the truth myself."  
"Zero, what? What are you talking about?" X asked, as he tried to prevent his comrade from leaving the room.  
"I don't…it doesn't feel right, being the government's attack dogs, to be ordered to kill whoever they want dead. But hell, what even is right anyways? This whole crisis is fucked up. I want to know what kind of cause I'm really fighting for, so…see you around, I guess."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Wow, it's been more than a month, and without me realizing it, the 1st anniversary of TViYH had passed. I'm so sorry for the long gap! I was dealing with my new job, other projects, and life in general. I'm fine, and I still have my resolve to finish this story. I want this story finished as much as you guys do. I'll try to write more often! I can't believe how much I've neglected this fic. Thanks for being with me while I was unable to be with you, I'm very grateful._

 _I feel that this chapter speaks volumes, even without any words to point the messages out._


	52. Repeated Mistake

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 52: Repeated Mistake**

"Hey, X." Axl had spoken that time, when they met each other in Ulfat after years of not seeing each other, "Nice new outfit." he commented.  
"Oh, you think so?" X guffawed.  
"I wasn't expecting it, though. Why the change?" Axl asked.  
"Well…I figured that I should look more like a fighter. A maverick hunter." X replied, causing Axl's eyes to widen, and his eyebrows to raise.

X? Taking steps to better fit the image of a warrior?

"Hahahaha, is the world going to end?" Axl joked, after having himself a short laugh. X? A warrior? About 15 years ago, X would yell at whoever would have suggested that. But now…

"Why, man?" Axl asked, still with the grin he had when he started laughing.

"You know…ever since you left, I just remembered you cheering me on. To fight, because that's what a maverick hunter's supposed to do, to fight to defend the people who can't defend themselves.  
But you weren't there anymore. I felt that I lost that spirit. Zero tried to help me rebound, but it wasn't really enough…so I just remembered the times when you cheered me on. I just kept telling myself that I don't want you to be disappointed in me when we meet again." X explained.

"You changed…for me?"

That was what Axl thought at the time, and it is still what he is thinking now.

"You were able…to change for me, X." Axl muttered, his near-vacant eyes fixated on the cloudy sky as he sat on the heliport. "But I…was never…able to change for anyone…ever. Not even myself…"

Even though his eyes are facing the grey sky, he is seeing something quite different.

"I think…" Zero had spoken, a few hours ago, with a somber expression on his face, "I'm going to get out of here and find the truth myself."

"I ruined everything." Axl mouthed the words—his voice just wouldn't come out, no matter how much he wanted to. Just to hear his ugly, horrible voice for a few moments, as steps to take to face himself—the person who can't change. Not for X, or for Zero, for himself, or for Epsilon…

"Maybe I'm preventing you from finding yourself, the part of yourself that remains even after you've lost everything but yourself. I'm not helping you develop and you're stagnating again."

His voice was still vivid in his memory, even after so many months of not hearing it in his head. Maybe because he was right? Or is it because he was wrong?

Maybe Axl really has found the part of himself that remains with him even after all else is lost—a horrible, short-tempered person who spits fire without even thinking of the consequences. A poor excuse of a man who stands close to the border between man and beast—one shove, and he becomes a beast with poor self-control, lashing out at anything and everything in the way, whether it earned his wrath or not, whether it's appropriate for him to behave that way.

Ah, yes.  
This is probably…who he really is. Maybe he's not stagnating, rather all the masks and walls he's built around himself and painted with bright, cheery colours have all crumbled, and this is his true self.

"Then, this ugly existence who does nothing but spread pain…should I end it here and now?" Axl thought to himself as his head moved downwards, his eyes staring at the blur that is the view of Giga City from the highest level of Central Tower, imagining how it would feel if he had decided to take the plunge from the heliport, down, down, and down…

Will the rain wash away his sins, then? When he's reduced to a pile of scrap metal after the long fall…

"Axl, what are you doing out there?"

Who?

A gentle, worried voice calling out to him made him jump. After a few seconds of shock, the sight of the far-away ground of Giga City was no longer a fascinating array of colours, but an abyss that will stare back if you ever stare into it.

"I can't fall." Axl whispered to himself.  
"Hey…Axl." the voice was gentler, and yet its source was closer. "Are you okay?"

Axl gently tried to breathe and survey his surroundings. That voice. Who is—

"X?" Axl called out. It was all he could get out. There was so much more he wanted to say. Why is he here? Why is he still so gentle to him, who had ruined their reunion? And why is he still worried about him?  
But under the weight of all those questions in his heart, his tongue couldn't move any more.

"It's going to rain. You can't stay out here." X said, concern reflected in his green eyes. No matter what he was wearing, even if he tried to make himself look like a fierce warrior, who he really is inside will always shine through—a nurturer who is full of heart. The contrast between his armour—his looks, and his true personality is jarring.

"Reploids don't catch colds." Axl replied, shoving X's concerns away.  
Then does this black armour reflect who he really is? Or do the bright colours: the red, yellow and white in his armour create a jarring contrast, when combined with his true self?

"You'll still get wet and cold and you won't like it." X insisted. "More importantly, what are you…doing out here?" he asked.

What he was doing? He was brooding over his own stupidity. But how can he say that? It's the truth, but somehow, he can't tell X. But it's the truth, right? So…

"I…wasn't feeling very good. It's all my fault that…Zero's…gone." Axl answered, every word struggling to leave his mouth. "I shouldn't have…picked a fight with…Gau…dile…"

He had wanted to get back at Gaudile for pushing the single domino that led to every other piece in front of it falling. It was his fault that Epsilon resorted to violence. It was his fault that the whole Liberion banded to conquer Giga City instead of thinking of more peaceful methods.  
But when he got around to actually doing it, when he accomplished the feat of shaming Gaudile in front of his own young daughter Cinnamon, and Chief R, a Giga City leader, it wasn't satisfying at all in the end. He didn't even feel satisfied while he was doing it. He probably didn't feel anything, even.

When he did it, his veins were as hot as flames, like lava was flowing through it. His mind went blank, focusing only on his white-hot hatred. If he was able to see himself, he probably looked like a vengeful demon then.

And that was probably what Zero saw. And what he had decided to avoid when he left Central Tower…

"Surely, you had your reasons." X assured. "I went to talk to Gaudile. He confessed to everything you said about him."  
"He did?" Axl blurted out, suppressing the urge to add "that bastard". Because of course, he is in no place to look down on others.  
"He confessed that he was the one who threw the first punch that started all of this." X explained. "Granted, it was after Chief R threatened to read his memories, but he did confess that he and Tezuka were the ones who decided to kill the Rebellion reploids back when they were just survivors. There were no official orders from anybody. They just up and made the decision on their own…not knowing that Epsilon heard them talking.  
He confessed that you did try to pacify those reploids, but he tossed a gun he turned into a bomb at the survivors when he decided that you might not have succeeded."

"S-so? What…happened…to him?" Axl asked, stuttering. If Gaudile was killed because he was impulsive and started a fight, then how would he be able to live with himself?

"Nothing. He's still a valuable ally. We can't deny that. We settled on having him and Cinnamon around, because in the end, it was the Rebellion who decided to pay back violence with large-scale violence." X answered.

He got off…scot-free? After what he had done? This isn't fair. He should've been declared maverick. He should've been thrown in jail after it's all over. He didn't act according to procedure, and the Force Metal experiments were, in a way, a government order, while his decision to kill them wasn't. He wasn't even following any orders when he made the decision, so why…why is he…

Because he's useful?  
So if someone's useful, if someone's got power that many other people needs, then they can basically do whatever they want and be excused in the end? Make any kind of mistake they want and be forgiven in the end? Be as cruel and as selfish and as egoistic as they want and no one will oppose them in the end?  
Is it what it means to be God?

Then if so…the feeble mortals have no choice, don't they?

"I…see." Axl replied. "Thank goodness…"  
"Oh?" X blurted out, his face contorted with surprise. Didn't he pick a fight with Gaudile, tossing vitriol at him nonstop when it lasted? But why is he showing concern now?  
"Well…he is a valuable ally. And…" Axl spoke, his voice low and monotone. "And he did…go out of his way to make up for it. So…I will, too."  
"Axl?" X blurted out again, questioning his friend's mental state. Was it really Axl speaking? The last time he heard his voice like that was during the Red Alert incident—  
"X…take me to Professor Gaudile. I'm going to go apologise to him…and then, let's get Zero back together…" Axl requested, even though every word took effort to leave his lips.

Ah.  
So maybe, that's the kind of person he is, after everything was taken from him. His pride, his self-esteem…leaving the core of who he is.

"I'm not letting a bit of hate…get in the way…of what I truly value."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** It's been more than a month since the last update. It's nearing the end of my period of strife, so things should stabilize for me in a few weeks. For everyone who's still following this fic, I thank you for being patient with me. This chapter...well, if my chapters are paintings, this one's probably a demented abstract painting. I haven't written in so much raw feelings for this fic for a long time now. Don't worry, I'm mentally OK enough.  
_


	53. Faith

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 53: Faith**

"Incentas," Botos had spoken to his comrade over the comm, "Jentra's gone."  
"I know." came the reply.  
"Now it's just you and me, and Shadow, and Ferham, and Scarface, and that dumbass Epsilon." Botos spat.  
"Don't call Epsilon stupid!" Incentas yelled, causing Botos to flinch.

"You're telling me not to call him stupid when he basically caused half of us to drop dead like flies? Jango, Silver Horn, Psyche, and Jentra…they were all killed by maverick hunters!" Botos argued, "Epsilon let Axl go, and Axl called X and Zero. And then he also let X and Zero go. Because of his stupid decisions, nearly half of us are dead!"

As Botos tried to calm down by taking deep breaths, no response came from the other side.

"How am I supposed to think?" Botos questioned, nearly sobbing, "Answer me. Please."  
"Do you think we should run away?" Incentas replied, but there was no sign of fear or venom in his voice.  
"Maybe. I don't know anymore. I just don't want to die." Botos answered.  
"If you don't know, then stay where you are." Incentas replied.  
"You make it sound so easy." Botos growled.  
"Because isn't it obvious? So we've been cut down. Do you think we need to scatter? Haven't you heard of 'united we stand, divided we fall'?" Incentas questioned.  
"United under an idiot we fall, that's what I know." Botos answered.  
"So are you going to leave? If so, where to?" Incentas asked.

Silence.

Where to, indeed? The whole world already knows that he's a maverick. Where is Botos supposed to go?  
Is he supposed to escape to the most devastated part of Earth, where next to no life is found? He'd go crazy because of the isolation.  
Is he supposed to do what Shadow did to the Hunters? To run to the other side, hoping for acceptance? It's not certain whether they'd spare him, kill him, or turn him into a tool for their own ends? Gaudile, who had suggested the idea of pseudo-lobotomy, was on that other side. He could do that, and would do that given enough incentive.  
Is he supposed to play the civilian? Be the fugitive, be constantly on the run, pursued by both the Hunters and the Liberion? No matter who wins, he loses.

"Well?" Incentas said.  
"I didn't sign up for this, Incentas." Botos replied.  
"No one signs up for failure and struggles. We all make decisions because we believe those decisions to be right. We may have been wrong at the time, but sometimes the only way to find out whether we're right or wrong is to just see it through," Incentas explained, "You weren't doubtful back there. Why are you losing your faith now?"  
"Because there's proof, goddammit!" Botos screamed, "You keep talking and talking about abstract concepts! Give me facts, then I'll change my mind! The fact is, every single one of us who had faced X and Zero got KILLED! If Epsilon hadn't spared those two, and that Axl, we would have it all by now!"  
"And the fact is that you have nowhere else to go, correct?" Incentas calmly responded. "Gggh…"

"Calm down, Botos. I'm still here," Incentas said, "Why don't we make a bet?"  
"Go on." Botos replied.  
"The hunters are coming for me next. If I live, we'll forget about this argument and you'll forget about leaving. If I die, you can lose faith and do whatever you want. What do you say?" Incentas continued.  
"Asshole…what kind of bet is that?" Botos growled.  
"Just something for you to hold on to," Incentas answered, "I know you're afraid of being the only dissenter, but you don't want to bear this burden alone. You know I can contact Epsilon to tell him what you just said at any time. But why are you pouring your heart out to me? You can't put your faith in Epsilon, but obviously, you still trust me."

"I…" Botos squeaked.  
"I'm right, aren't I?" Incentas said.  
"Let me…tell you something." Botos spoke.  
"Truth be told, I...back there in the lab, I fully expected you to either chicken out in the middle, or end up dead. You were just an ordinary reploid. Compared to the rest of us, you were puny. When the Great Force Metal Blast hit us, I thought we were all gonna die. But then you survived, and came back strong; stronger than me, even. That was when I thought that you could survive anything…"

"Heheh…" Incentas chuckled, "You were always the snobbish type. I never knew you thought that way all along. Although I wasn't surprised about you thinking I wouldn't make it this far at first. I thought the same too, back then. But I just didn't want to drop, that's all."

"Promise me you'll return alive." Botos demanded.  
"I will. And I don't mind if you don't forgive me if I break that promise." Incentas responded.  
"Definitely. I'll hate you forever for dying on me. And then I'll do all sorts of horrible things." Botos said, his voice shaking.  
"Sure you will. Now go to your room and calm down."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** A shorter-than-usual chapter as a follow-up to the longer-than-usual chapter. Either way, I feel that this is what Botos ended up doing what he did at the end of Chapter 8 of MMXCM._

 _Also, for BMG, I'm sorry if, at some point, you thought I forgot what I promised you, or decided not to deliver. I'm glad I made you happy._


	54. Shattered

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 54: Shattered**

"Oh, it's you," I had said that time, when I saw him.  
"I—We don't die that easily, you treacherous bastard," Spider spat.  
I chuckled. "But you're fooled so easily. I thought you'd know better than to trust a seemingly traitorous hunter."  
"It doesn't matter. This is a copy chip laboratory, right? I still arrived where I wanted to be. But let me guess…that 'hunter' was just you transforming, am I right?"  
"Yes, you are."

A few hours later, he was writhing in pain on the ground, his head under my sole.

"I-I can't…die here! I have to come back…to Aile…ngh!"  
"So he's not with you? Some friend he is, isn't it? For him to leave you alone when you're going somewhere dangerous—"  
"He doesn't have legs anymore, and it's because of YOU!"  
"My apologies. I never cared. Any last words?"  
"Ggh…Marino, you were right. I was a fool. If you…ever see Aile, please…take him…somewhere safe—"

I put pressure on his head, and then a loud crunch was heard.

"You talk too much."

And that was how I got this form.

As soon as I heard of Shadow's betrayal, I rushed to Giga City. Since it's Rebellion territory, their cronies will go for me if I went there as myself. Even civilians will take note of me and they might sell me out. I will still be in danger even if I don't look like myself, as long as I identify as "Colonel Redips". The "Colonel" part will make me the Rebellion's prime target.

After all, judging by what Shadow told me before his betrayal, all the intel in Lagrano disappeared. Those Force Metal monsters must have rummaged through the files after killing Tezuka and found out who funded their experiments.

It's too bad because since everyone sees me as "Spider", I can't truly reveal to Shadow that I know he's betrayed me.

"I promise I'll be here, Colonel! I'll be strong, so that you won't be alone anymore."

That was what he said when we were both younger. But in the end he's just a liar, like everyone else who left me before him.  
But my previous comrades died by my side. Shadow is even worse.

"Shadow!" X yelled. "You're going to pay for betraying us!"  
"Well, X...I suppose you came here hoping to find the Supra-Force Metal?" Shadow replied.  
"Wha…what?"  
"Huh, I thought you'd know. It's an improved form of Force Metal that the Liberion Army is studying to help all reploids attain freedom. You government lackeys can't have it!"

"You're talking crazy, yo." "I" spoke. "All the fuss for a hunk of metal…apparently, it's important enough to ditch your comrades over! Why is it so valuable to you, maverick?"  
"There's no need for me to describe the effects! Take me on and see for yourselves!" Shadow roared as he got into a fighting stance.

The first thing he did was fire his cannon. The shot was much bigger than usual.  
I jumped to dodge—thank goodness for this agile form. Marino and Axl, who are just as fast, were able to dodge. X was partially hit, and his armour started smoking. Massimo grabbed Cinnamon and ran as fast as he could, but while Cinnamon was fine, his back wasn't.

"No way." I blurted out.  
"Hah! So much for S-class hunters…one shot, and you all scatter like bugs! What happened to you wanting to put me down, huh?" Shadow taunted.  
"We won't lose to you, you traitorous maverick!" X barked.  
"You all think that right makes might, when it's really the inverse. I'm playing by your rules now, but when you're getting the short end of it, you accuse us of being maverick. I'm tired of you all hypocrites."

Shadow readied his blade and glared at X. "I'm going to start with you!"  
"Not so fast!" Marino yelled from right behind Shadow, her daggers pointed at his nape. But Shadow simply turned around and backhanded her, like he was swatting a bug. She was launched across the room screaming.

"Marino!" Cinnamon cried out, running away from Massimo's side to get close to Marino so she can heal her.  
As soon as Shadow saw her, however, he ran towards her and opened his arms. "I'm gonna do what Psyche failed to do!"

Axl aimed his G-Launcher at Shadow's face and pulled the trigger before he could dodge. The moment it hit, Cinnamon ran away, finally reaching Marino. Smoke came out of Shadow's face, and he flinched…but then he coughed and wiped his face, as if he was merely splashed with water.

"What in the bloody…" Axl said.  
Shadow chuckled. "Haha…out of tactics, Retiree?"  
As soon as he finished speaking, he dashed towards Axl and swung his massive blue blade at him. Axl was able to jump to dodge it, but the blade cut his foot, and he fell down in the middle of the jump.

"Gg-gah! Can't…move…"  
"You'll be an easy target, after being out of action for so long…"  
Axl sneered, even as he was dragging himself on the floor and having difficulties getting up. "I won't die that easily."

"And I won't let you!" X yelled, firing a charge shot at Shadow's head, and he screamed when the massive shot hit. Pieces of his helmet crumbled and smoke came out of his head.

"Ahhhh…that was hot as hell. You're going to pay for that! I'm going to send you there in the most painful way possible!" Shadow bellowed.

"What—he didn't die? But I charged to the absolute maximum—"  
"X, surely you can tell. I'm stronger now. All thanks to the power of Supra-Force Metal."  
"You sold out your friends for power? That's some 'ideal!' All you mavericks care about is power!"

"How dare you call the great Epsilon a maverick! Coming from a hypocrite like you, though, it makes sense. You always talk about peaceful resolutions, but never bother to ask WHY reploids keep on rebelling, rebelling, and rebelling! You just keep shooting them down, because you don't CARE!  
You said that all 'mavericks' care about is power? It's the humans who care about power and only power! They may want to enslave all reploids, but because you're a powerful S-class, so all you get from the humans you're defending is praise! Do you know how we 'low-class' hunters get? Ridicule! Comparisons to you and those human-controlled PREONs! You think people love all hunters equally? We're never good enough for them! Only you S-classes and higher-ups are!  
You're in a better spot than everyone else, so you LIKE the world the way it is! Because it's treating you so damn well, you're defending it, never mind the people who want a better life!  
I know why the peaceful, gentle X became more militaristic…it's because all YOU care about is your power and influence, because you're a goddamn S-class loved by the humans! You call me a traitor? YOU'RE the traitor to reploids everywhere, and I hate you!"

Shadow, is that what you really think? So all this time, I was just a greedy higher-up to you?

"N-no…" X stuttered, frozen in his tracks as Shadow walks towards him, "It's not true…it's not!"  
"Epsilon and the others will help me carve my own future. And the least I can do for them is give them your head."

As Shadow walked, his blue blade started glowing as he charged it with energy. But then, the door of the room opened.

"I don't know what happened here…" Zero spoke, announcing his presence, "But I'm not letting you do whatever the hell you want, Shadow."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** It's been some time. I'm sorry I disappeared for so long. I was creating a personal project, and in the process learned better writing techniques from my Big Sis. Work has been quite busy for me, but I won't ever abandon this story. I promised myself I'm finishing it, so I will._


	55. Status Quo

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 55: Status Quo**

Zero took out his Z-Saber as he stepped into the room, the door closing behind him after he walked past it.  
"What party did I miss?"

"Zero!" X cried out, a big grin forming in his face.  
"I'm disappointed in all of you. Can't even win a 6 VS 1 fight? What kind of joke is this?" Zero grumbled.  
"Oh, don't be so mean to them." Shadow responded. "I'm just so damn powerful, after all, thanks to the Force Metal."

A few seconds after Shadow spoke, he heard the sound of something being cut from behind him. He turned back to look, only for a card to fall off when he moved. The spot where it used to be started smoking and fizzing with electricity.

"Stop speaking bullshit, you hypocrite!" Spider shouted, "Force Metal this, Force Metal that. You're a former A-class, aren't you? Do you have any fucking idea where you got all those toys from? Did Epsilon give them to you? Did he? Answer me!"

"Wha—what the—"  
Shadow hurriedly took his cannon off his back, and saw that the generator was hit by Spider's card, the cut deep and big enough to insert a coin into.  
"This can't be…this was a custom-made cannon! A bounty hunter like you can't know it so well if it's not mass-produced—"

"That's right! Who do you think got you this far? It's the Maverick Hunters, right? The higher-ups you talked shit about a few minutes ago, right? Did Epsilon give you that? And if you were some downtrodden hunter, could you commission that thing yourself? The answer to my last two questions is no, isn't it?"

"You…you…"

"Don't get me wrong. I'm not a government lackey, but I'm not an ungrateful, backstabbing asshole like you. You claim to hate the world, but you don't object to benefits from it. You claim to despise the higher-ups, but accept things from them because they benefit you.  
And then you babble about having the higher moral ground, when all the crap you tossed at X actually describe you more than him. It's people like you who are truly despicable. Why don't you admit that you just want more than you have now, without any ideals sprinkled all over your motifs?"

"Y-you…you…!"

"I what? I told the truth about you? Is it?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Shadow roared, his eyes wide, as he lunged at Spider, who turned invisible before Shadow could get to him.

"Where is he?"  
Shadow looked around for Spider, or any traces of him like footsteps or a shadow, only to ignore something beeping at his left foot, which exploded in a few seconds. The debris nearly shattered his ankle, but Shadow managed to keep standing.

"What…what in the-!"  
"Did you really think I was just lying there like a French girl waiting to be drawn?" Axl sneered while sitting on Massimo's shoulder, a grenade in his hand.  
"Retiree-!"

"This is for what you did to Marino!" Cinnamon cried out, punching Shadow's left knee as hard as she could. The joint cracked quite audibly, and Shadow screamed as he lost his balance. While Shadow was falling down, Marino swooped in and carried Cinnamon out of harm's way.

"Don't think I'm gonna give up that easily!" Shadow yelled as he propped himself up with the cannon and his right leg. But just as he was nearly able to stand, a massive shot blew his left leg away, and Shadow was launched into a wall.

"Face it, Shadow. You're all alone." X stated, lowering his smoking buster.

Shadow grunted in pain, his head hanging down, his back leaning against the wall. Zero dashed towards him, Z-Saber drawn.

"I heard what you said about X. And I'm not happy about it. So I'm gonna give YOUR head to X."

"Like I'd let you!" Shadow roared, swiping his blade as fast as he could.

The next thing that was heard was the sound of metal being sliced and the screaming voice of a man.

"Ggg…ggh…"  
"You…why did you…"  
"Are you okay, Zero?"  
"Spider, you idiot! I could've just…parried it myself! Why did you-!"  
"Don't be stupid…I just…felt like it. Besides, I wanted to be the one…to kill him."

With one of his arms cut after taking the hit from Shadow's blade, Spider used his remaining arm to shoot cards at Shadow's head. The many cards sliced Shadow's head, and Spider kicked the protruding cards so that they'll cut deep enough to destroy Shadow's electronic brain.

Spider freed his injured arm from Shadow's blade, and Shadow didn't struggle. The arm the blade was attached to fell like an inanimate object afterwards.

"I hate traitors. So very much." Spider muttered as he stared at Shadow's mutilated head, a tear dropping down his face after he finished speaking.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** I'm quite satisfied with this chapter. I've recently learned that in writing, less is more, so I decided to apply that lesson, and I think I can see it._


	56. March

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 56: March**

It was quiet after Shadow finally died as everyone had taken a few moments to get some rest.

"You knew him?" Zero asked Spider when he noticed tear lines down his face.  
"I…I just felt bad, you know? For you guys."  
"Did X rub off on you?"  
"Maybe. We did have some time to know each other. Anyways…shame it had to end like this."  
"Well, forget about Shadow. Your arm is more important. Let's go back to base and get it patched up."  
"No way."  
"What?"  
"I mean—it's probably the first time you've seen a reploid like me, right? Card-slinging, tuxedo armour-wearing dude who can turn invisible? My mechanism is custom-made. Not a lot of people know how to fix me good. Aile's one of the few people who does…but well, he's gone now."  
"So what are we going to do? Let you wear out until that arm falls off?"  
"Hell, no. Just…Cinnamon will be able to do me good. She doesn't need to look at machinery to heal, right? That should be enough for the time being."  
"Right, then. You can call her over here once she's done patching Marino up. I need to go and check up on X."

Spider relaxed and leaned against the wall with a huff as Zero got up to walk over towards X, whose head was hanging down.

"X. You alright?" Zero asked as he sat beside X.  
"I…don't know." X replied, raising his head to face Zero.  
"Obviously you're not."  
"I guess so."  
"What's wrong? You already know why we're fighting."  
"Well, yeah. I mean, I know we're here because the Rebellion ruined Giga City and the lives of its citizens. It's a good enough reason to fight them and get them out of here. But still, why exactly did they do this?"  
"Same reason why robbers rob. They need something they don't have, while the only thing they do have is power to wave around. So they mug the people who have what they want with the power they have."

"Well…"  
"Makes sense, right?"  
"It does, but…it's just our assumption, Zero. Not the truth."  
"Well, true enough…"  
"Same thing if you assume that a guy with scars on his face merely got it because he was a delinquent. What if he got it trying to protect someone from a criminal? Or he simply fell off his bicycle? The assumption makes sense, but it's still not the truth."  
"Doesn't change the fact that they still terrorized Giga City, and we still need to punish them for it. Whatever sob story they have doesn't matter. They lost any sympathy they could have had by doing what they did."  
"But Shadow was right when he said that I never really looked further into WHY exactly the mavericks did what they did. He was right when he said I was satisfied with just taking orders from the Hunters and executing whoever the government wants dead. I…we…we're just attack dogs."

Zero's body tensed and he took a few breaths in response to X's last sentence.

"Zero, you took some time to think about what you're fighting for, right? So can you tell me what you've figured out? You were the one who brought up the possibility of us being government lackeys, so surely you've figured something out? Please…"  
"Whatever I figured out…" Zero replied, his lips trembling, "I already told you. I wanted to find the truth, but then I decided that the truth behind what they did will never undo their crimes or the pain they have caused others. It's not our place to be the judge or the jury. We're the executioners. The judge and jury have already done their jobs."

X slowly hung his head again, heaving a weary sigh.

"'Course, that's my thinking, X. I'm not someone who wants to change the world. I just want to do my job right." Zero added, patting X's shoulder.  
"I want to know what drove them to do what they did. Axl seems to know something, though." X replied, his eyes lighting up as he spoke.  
"I suggest you don't probe. It seems to be a very sensitive topic for him."  
"You're right. I think he'll know what to do with such a truth."

Meanwhile, Marino took Shadow's body apart to loot valuable upgrade parts off it.

"Whoa, nice." she remarked, holding up an internal part. "Cinnamon, what can you do with this?"  
"Ummm, no idea…I'll need to ask the Professor, I've never seen something like that before. What can you do with it, Marino?"  
"These can sell for a pretty penny or improve some reploid's physical condition."

"That so?" Spider hollered from afar. "I wish I could get some for Aile if he was still here…"  
"Hey, Spider. That reminds me. What happened when you went to the copy chip place?" Marino responded.  
"Ah. Don't remind me about it. Shouldn't have trusted another 'rogue hunter'. I was led into an ambush. Barely survived that shit. Dumbest choice ever. Wait, nevermind. Second dumbest choice ever."  
"You'd think the first one with that colonel had taught you all you need to know about trusting strangers."  
"Or people in general." Spider replied, his voice an uncharacteristic low growl.  
"Ooh, scary."  
"Yeah. So! Don't remind me. Case closed!"

"It's so lively in here," Axl remarked, "You'd never guess that we just killed someone."  
"We took care of a villain and a traitor," Massimo, who was sitting beside him, replied, "Of course it's a relief."  
"Shadow had a point, though, when he said that the lot of us never wondered why the Liberion—erm, Rebellion did what they did. Maybe we should get his memory chip to dig just why betraying the Hunters was worth it."  
"I…don't think so." Massimo answered, pointing at Shadow's head.  
"Damn." Axl cursed as he noticed the many cards embedded into it.  
"Don't get discouraged, Axl. We can always find another way to get the truth. Epsilon's the head honcho, we should get everything we need to know from him."  
"Heh…heheheheheheh…great. You're right, Massimo. I'll be really looking forward to it. I'll beat the truth out of him if I have to! Well, I have to, don't I?"  
"That's the spirit."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Oh wow, it's been more than a month since the last update! I'm terribly sorry for the delay. Let me explain why._

 _1\. June was hell. I'll leave it at that._  
 _2\. I've been so easily tired and fatigued. Today wasn't very nice to me, I was so tired and cranky._  
 _3\. I've been doing a few things! Personal projects, playing new games, basically refreshing my creative muscles._

 _Don't worry! I'll finish this fic. Seeing abandoned fanfiction makes me sad._

 _I'm still trying to work on my prose writing. It's satisfying how much is between the lines for the readers to notice when you don't show them. I think I need to read a few books to get a feel of how to write better prose..._


	57. Wasn't There Supposed to be a Light?

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 57: Wasn't There Supposed to be a Light?**

After having retaken Gimialla Mine, the party returned to Central Tower, saddened over the Pyrrhic victory.

Everyone was quiet, except for Cinnamon, who was crying. Upon noticing her, Gaudile walked over towards her to give her a hug.

"I couldn't save him, Professor!" she sobbed.  
"It's not your fault, Cinnamon," Gaudile replied, "It was his decision."  
"No one should have to make a decision like that! I don't like it!"  
"Cinnamon, please understand that this world is cruel. But you mustn't become cruel too, alright?"

Cinnamon responded with a nod, but she stayed in Gaudile's arms, sobbing softly.

"I understand how Cinnamon feels, though." X spoke up, "We could've tried other things. He didn't have to die."  
"Regardless, X," Chief R replied, "Spider was still a hero."  
"I wish we could give him a proper send-off, but…there's…no body. To think he completely obliterated himself for us…" Massimo remarked.  
"This just means that we can't waste his sacrifice," Axl said, "We can mourn, but we can't back down."  
"That's a given." Marino responded.

Zero remained silent, his head hung. Upon noticing Zero, Chief R heaved a small sigh before addressing the party.  
"It's been a hard day for everyone. You did great work, however. Get some rest. We all need it."

Meanwhile, in the remains of Gimialla Mine's control room, a reploid emerged, seemingly out of nowhere.

"This Stealth Mode…" Spider remarked, before turning back into Redips. "Does me good every single time." he continued.

"Ever since Master Lumine taught me this, it has never failed me. When Jakob fell, I was able to hide and escape the New-Gen purge. It's helped me survive everything ever since. And now…I'm getting closer and closer to realising our dream.  
Master, are you watching? I'll bring emancipation to reploids for sure. Those humans have oppressed us long enough."

At the same time, Epsilon addresses his remaining comrades from Grave Ruins base in a conference call, with Scarface accompanying him.

"It's just the four of us, now." he started.  
"What do you suppose we do?" Botos replied, his voice low. "Run away, or fight to the death?"  
"I thought the answer's obvious? Come on, Botos." Ferham answered.  
"The hunters will just bulldoze the rest of us." Botos argued bitterly.  
"That pessimism isn't going to get you anywhere." Scarface commented.  
"The three of you…please, stop." Epsilon said.

"Epsilon, this isn't getting us anywhere. You know how ridiculously overpowered we are, yet here we are now, reduced to four, when there were nine of us!" Botos screamed.  
"Then what do YOU suggest, giving up and getting shot by the Maverick Hunters' firing squad?" Ferham questioned.  
"Hell, no! What about we just storm their base or something? Just…have the four of us face them as opposed to 1 VS 6? Like, when they're going to Vanallia or somewhere else, the four of us fight them?" Botos suggested.  
"We can't, Botos. If we storm their base, we'll be facing them in their ideal place, where they have all the supplies they need, not to mention that the whole city of New Hope will most likely have their back and mob us. And if we focus on just them and leave our assigned areas unguarded, they can send troops to occupy them, and we'll lose whatever we still have now." Epsilon said.  
"So what now? We stick to our original plan and let the predictable outcome happen? Then what's the point of us talking at all? We're going absolutely nowhere!" Botos yelled.  
"Are you suggesting that we're fighting a losing fight?" Scarface asked.  
"So what if I am?" Botos screamed.

Epsilon, Scarface, and Ferham went silent. After trashing Central Tower and crushing the original Steel Massimo's group near-effortlessly, defeat sounded like an unfathomable concept. Even if it isn't, what do they do with it?

"We were just nine—now four powerful reploids against the whole goddamn world. It's…what can we do with our current state? We lost our comrades and territories." Botos explained.  
"It isn't the whole world we're fighting. It's just the Maverick Hunters." Epsilon calmly replied. "We can still do something. Incentas took out one of their members, right?"  
"You're saying that like his death is a good thing!" Botos screamed.  
"Oh, my god, Botos, quit your whining!" Ferham snapped. "Look, you're not the only one who's upset over our friends dying! But does it mean we have to give up? Then that would mean that we wasted their sacrifice!"  
"But if we die and fail, what would all our efforts mean, then?" Botos asked, his voice still high, tears streaming down his face.  
"It's better to die fighting rather than living knowing that you didn't do your best when it mattered." Scarface answered.  
"Botos…there's no need to worry. We can still fight." Epsilon assured.

Botos didn't answer.

"If…if there's anything you need, just ask, and we'll help you." Epsilon spoke again.  
"Ha…haha…yeah. Thanks, guys. Sorry, but I think I need a moment. I'll catch you later." Botos said blankly, his laugh mirthless and empty, before disconnecting.

When the disconnection process was complete, Botos screamed at the top of his lungs and punched the wall.

"Damn it! Damn it all! Aaaaaargh!" he roared, punching the wall again, again, and again. "I can't understand them at all! Throwing lives away for some pipe dream? Give me a fucking break! They need to learn how to quit! I've had it with this stupid fucking rebellion!"

"Master Botos!"

The voice coming from the entrance caused him to tense and turn back towards it. One of his subordinates was standing there with a fearful expression.

"What…happened here? What's going on, Master?" he said, nervously stepping forward, the door closing behind him.  
"Who told you to enter without permission?" Botos growled, stomping towards him.  
"I…I heard…sounds while…I was passing through…I was worried, so…" the subordinate explained, intimidated at Botos towering over him.  
"Haha…haha…ha…" Botos cackled. "Do you know that worries mean nothing around here?"  
"W-what do you mean—"

Without saying another word, Botos swiftly grabbed his subordinate's head and slammed it against the door.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** This chapter was hard to write, mostly because the party would be quiet after Spider's death. At least I was able to explain how exactly Spider/Redips survived, and gain insight on him. I honestly just came up with him being the last (known?) remnant of the X8 mavericks who was able to escape the New-Gen purge in Chapter 2. If only he knew who Epsilon really is..._


	58. It's You, It's Me

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 58: It's You, It's Me**

"What's the point, X?" I remarked as X, Zero, and I walked the dark staircase of Lagrano ruins, "Surely Shadow had taken everything he could with him."  
"He probably missed a thing or two, Axl."  
"Probably…" I muttered. Well, not probably. He missed everything, haha.  
"It's not like you to be so pessimistic." Zero chimed in.  
"We should've…made sure to recover his memory chip. It was probably worth more than anything we can find here. But eh. No use dwelling on it." I said. I shouldn't be speaking ill of the dead, but Spider shouldn't have busted Shadow's head back there. If only my leg wasn't injured during the fight…

"What did you find here that Shadow didn't find, anyways?" I asked. X and Zero have been here before, even though their visit was cut short.  
"Nothing much. Just very basic info on the Rebellion founders." X answered.  
"We didn't get to search the more important rooms, like Prof. Gaudile and Prof. Tezuka's quarters." Zero added.

Well…I was the first one to search the whole place. I took everything, including proof of very dark secrets. But what do I do? Do I just spill everything? If my involvement—well, old relationship—with Epsilon's revealed in the process, I might be put on trial.  
And what's the use of telling them all I know? Will it change the fact that Epsilon and his cronies have basically demolished Giga City? Of course not. Chief R himself said it when I blurted out part of it during my rage fit. They've dug their own grave, and no one can ever get them out.

So what are X and Zero looking for the truth in Lagrano for?

"Why are you doing this? You know that we'll be retiring the Libe—Rebellion, anyways."  
"What Shadow said was right. I was contented with merely retiring mavericks. That…made me think, you know? What happened to me? I always liked pacifistic solutions better, but over time, I…I just…I forgot." X answered.  
"Granted, X, you tried. The last attempt just didn't go so well." Zero replied.  
"So…how will looking for the truth improve the situation?" I asked again, trying to get everyone back on topic.  
"If I know what caused this, it would be one step towards understanding the other side, so I know their problems. I gave up on peaceful solutions a long time ago, but I…I shouldn't have."

We stopped speaking after X did, mostly because we had arrived to one final door.

"If you didn't find anything here, X, what, then?" I asked again. They're not gonna find anything worth shit. I took everything.  
"Then I'll ask you." X replied.

Wait, what? No. Holy shit, no.

"W-why?"  
"You know something. We all know it."  
"Ah…hahaha. It was obvious, wasn't it?"  
"Hehe…it was. Something happened between you, Prof. Gaudile, and Prof. Tezuka, right?"

Well, looks like I was the one who dug my own grave. Curse my temper…

"The bigger question is why no one has interrogated me yet."  
"Because everyone's highest priority is retiring the Rebellion. You know, shoot first, ask later? If I find some decisive evidence here, maybe we can reverse that."  
"X, I don't think so." Zero remarked.  
"I said maybe, Zero. Even if we can't save them, we can still try to change a few things that will prevent more reploids from becoming criminal mavericks."  
"You got me there." Zero responded with a smirk.  
"So what are we waiting for? Let's get this over with." I said, opening the door, revealing…

Wait. What?

"Axl!"

Jasmine ran towards me at top speed, Saffron and Cumin following her, although they didn't move as fast. Why the hell are they in this dump—

"Oof!" I grunted, my heart skipping a beat as I felt a heavy force pushing me back and pulling me in at the same time.

…

How long has it been since I was last tackle-hugged? How many YEARS? It feels weird.

"I missed you! Do you have any idea how—how worried we were?" Jasmine sobbed.  
"You have a loooot to tell us." Cumin added.  
"It's good to see you again." Saffron said with a small smile.

Zero whistled.  
"What WERE you doing in Giga City, Axl?" he teased, with a shit-eating grin on his face.  
"Working? As a shop assistant?"  
"Aww, I don't think that's all. Explain all this, man."

"Um…why are you three here? Why aren't you in New Hope? Isn't this place…unsuitable for living?" X asked.  
"We still need to work," Cumin answered, "Since we couldn't come back to our shop and wares, we had to do something."  
"Didn't the government give you some allowance?"  
"Yes, they did. But what good is there in eating and sleeping all day, waiting for you guys to get rid of the Rebellion? Life's got to go on."  
"But…why here in Lagrano?"

"We figured that they might've had some materials we can use to craft items," Saffron answered, "We've made some nice things. You should buy some."

"Oh, speaking of goods…" Cumin said. "Hey, Jasmine. Let Axl go—no. Let Axl breathe. I need to talk to him."

Without saying a word, Jasmine stopped sobbing and let me go, rubbing teardrops off her eyes afterwards.

"I'm sorry." I apologized.  
"W-well, you…did what you had to do, as a maverick hunter." Jasmine replied. But it was clearly just an excuse.  
"You're right. I had something that I need to do. But I hurt you. I was reckless. No matter how important my mission was, it can't erase the pain I caused you, Cumin, and Saffron."  
Jasmine bit her lip. "You're…going to leave again, right?"  
"Yeah. I'm…I'm sorry for that, too."  
"But you'll come back alive again like…now, right?"  
"I have to."  
"Then I can wait," Jasmine said, smiling widely, "If I need to wait until the Rebellion is defeated to have the good old days back, then I will wait for as long as it takes."  
"I…"

I can't guarantee the latter. I never thought about what I will do after we kill Epsilon. But does he really have to die? I…  
I want my good old days back too. But…  
What…what do I do? What use is there in remaining in Giga City? Do I want that life?

"I…I'll see what I can do," I replied, forcing a smile, "I can't promise you anything just yet."  
"But can you promise me you'll see me—us again after the Rebellion's gone?"  
"That I can." I responded, giving her a genuine smile.  
"I can't wait."  
"Didn't you say you will wait?" I teased, giggling afterwards.

"Hey, you two lovebirds!" Cumin yelled, nearly making me jump. Zero was standing besides her, grinning annoyingly wide. He whistled twice after Cumin called out to us.

"Yeah, what is it, Cumin?" I said, walking away from the giggling Jasmine.  
"I…well…remember…the gun I gave you?" she said, "What happened? I saw it in Dr. Psyche's hands when he invaded Central Tower."

Oh, shit.


	59. Cats don't Belong in Bags

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 59: Cats don't Belong in Bags**

Everyone stared at me, especially X and Zero.  
That's it. I dug my own grave. If I hadn't exploded that time, I wouldn't have let out the fact that I know something. If it didn't happen, X wouldn't have come here, we wouldn't have met the sisters—

"Axl…I think you really have to talk now." X said. No shit…  
"Yeah, tell us everything!" Jasmine added, "What have you been doing? And what were you doing at Lagrano? Why was it so important?"  
"What happened there? After you left, the whole island was on red alert." Cumin added.

Saffron and Zero just stood silently, staring at me.

"Alright…" I huffed out. "Alright. I'll talk. But don't judge me."

I swallowed. I can't tell them about my relationship with Epsilon. The basics should be enough.

"I…it started from the news of the final Supra-Force Metal experiment. I knew something would go wrong. I couldn't just sit there and let it happen. So I…I went to Lagrano.  
When I arrived, I saw Gaudile and Tezuka running for the gate. They told me…everything."

X nodded. I know he remembered me yell at Gaudile about it.

"They were under orders to conduct experiments to combine existing reploids with Supra-Force Metal. After they've done all they were ordered to, they were left with the super-powered survivors. Epsilon overheard the professors planning to lobotomize them, and…he took things in his own hands.  
I didn't know the full details, but then I went in there. I wanted to convince them to not kill. To just stop and talk to each other or something, to calm down. It must've taken a long time, because then the professors got impatient and threw a flashbang grenade at us. Epsilon…took the blow for me. But even then, everything dissolved into chaos. One of them knocked me out cold. And then…"

And then Epsilon carried me away. He then left without a word when I fell asleep.

"I woke up under a tree, somewhere outside of Lagrano. When I checked in my bag, Cumin's gun was already gone. They must have rummaged through my belongings while I was out. I returned to Lagrano to find it empty. I mean—no one was there anymore."

And then I took everything, including proof of Colonel Redips's involvement. But they don't need to know that…yet. But hell, who am I to decide it? I don't NEED to hide this one.

"So I took the chance to take all the important documentation on this whole experiment. What's the point in spending time, energy, and money to create awfully super-powered reploids if they're going to be killed off anyways? It turns out Colonel Redips ordered this experiment."

"What on Earth?" X blurted out.  
"You can't be serious." Zero commented.  
"Oh yes, I'm very serious. Give me a few moments." I said as I manifested the bag containing his invoices.

As I searched the bag for the invoices, I heard the sisters talk to X and Zero.

"Um…who's Colonel Redips?" Saffron asked.  
"He's part of the Maverick Hunters, our first New-Gen colonel. He's also the one who happens to be heading our current operation." Zero stated.  
"He's never known for humanitarian work, although…he seems to have a tendency…to come up with wacky plans." X added.  
"Huh."  
"I guess he's doing all this to fix his mistake?" Cumin remarked.  
"But what could he be funding the experiments for?" Jasmine asked.

"Beats me." I chimed in, the papers in hand. "Here, look at these."

I handed the papers to X and Zero, who read them like their lives depended on it.

"These cheques were from so long ago! Hell, how long has he been planning for this?" Zero remarked as he found the cheques from Redips's pre-colonel days.  
"We need to ask him about this." X stated, as he moved the papers in his hand into his container program.

Well, X, you can try, but I don't think he'll be telling the truth.

"What else did you take, Axl?" X asked.  
"I left the blueprints and technical stuff alone. I mostly took proof of Colonel Redips's involvement…oh, wait."

I forgot this one. It's the orders. The final line is especially important:

"Neutralize all the survivors in any way after all the experiments are finished. Don't let them become threats."

Well, I can't let X and Zero keep this one. They can read it, but not keep it.

"If you're planning to hand THIS one over to Redips, please don't. Just read it. I can't lose this one." I said as I showed them the orders.  
X bit his lip after reading the whole thing. "I…yeah, but you can't lose it either."  
"Aren't Gaudile and Tezuka government scientists?" Zero asked.  
"No, they're independent. They just cooperated with the government. The cheques aren't addressed to the government or any governmental department, see?" I answered.  
"That's true. Gaudile's got his own private laboratory, he doesn't work with the gov't…" X pondered.

"Hey," Cumin said, "Since you're in a pretty big mission right now, why don't you get top-notch equipment?"  
"We crafted some great stuff." Saffron added.  
"Yeah. You…you all need to stay safe." Jasmine followed.

X laughed. "Haha…you're right. Thank you. Sorry for ignoring you girls."  
"Yeah, we should take a look at all these later." Zero said.  
I nodded as I placed the orders back in my bag, and moved the bag into my container program. "I'm sorry I lost your gun, Cumin. It must've been very pricey."

Cumin shrugged with a smile. "It's alright, Axl. I can't blame you. You were doing your best, did what a normal person would do."

Thank goodness.  
"Haha…ha…thanks a lot, Cumin. So, what have you guys got?"

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** I split the scene into two chapters, mostly because of how big it is. I need to thank  RandyPandy. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have thought of writing the last 2 chapters. I would've unintentionally skipped it over. The stuff with Jasmine in the last chapter was unintentionally shippy. It's hilarious. _


	60. Expectations

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 60: Expectations**

"Botos! Thank goodness…" Ferham spoke as she leaned against a pillar, as Botos approached her.  
"You don't look so good." Botos flatly remarked.  
"Well…duh. I guess we should've listened to you when you said we should've just…ganged up on them. That group of six roughed me up real bad. I could barely move…can you help me out?"  
"Sure, no problem. Epsilon made an emergency call anyways. He said we need to gather up the Supra-Force Metal and retreat back to the base."

Ferham tensed as she stared at Botos with wide eyes. "What? If there was something like that, I would know!"  
"Look at yourself. You're really beat up. They probably damaged your communicator, too."  
"But…I can feel it, the signal here is good…and I can contact Epsilon, I'll just confirm it to him—"

Ferham was cut off by Botos punching her helmet hard, actually destroying the communicator.

"What the hell was that for? You—"

Botos didn't utter a single word in response, instead ripping off the small pink gem embedded on the orange choker-like piece of metal that wraps around Ferham's neck.

"The key! Why, you…that's certainly NOT what Epsilon would tell you to do!" she yelled.  
"Of course! Why the hell should I listen to him anymore after he led us to…this? Huh? Tell me!" Botos yelled back.  
"That doesn't give you an excuse to turn traitor!"  
"You don't know what I've been through."  
"Aren't we in this together? All of us?"  
"I don't want to be in this shithole with you anymore."

Something sank deep in Ferham's heart as her chest felt tight. Her eyes started to water as Botos walked away from her, the Supra-Force Metal missile key in his hands. She tried to drag herself towards him, but her limbs hurt too much. Every movement burned.

"Hey…Botos…"

She only managed to move a short distance away from the pillar that supported her before falling over. As Botos left the room, Ferham could only stare at him from watery eyes.

"I'm…sorry."

Shortly after Botos shut the door behind him, the coldness of the room hit her again. It was comforting. Gentle. It soothed her, even if she is alone and in pain. She could die like this and she wouldn't complain…much. And then, everything went black.

"Hey…hey, wake up!"  
"X, she's probably gone already."

What a nuisance.

…

Wait, X?

Ferham opened her eyes to see blurred colours. Blue…red…black…

"See! I told you!" X exclaimed.  
"Can I heal her?" Cinnamon asked.  
"No, Cinnamon. We need to be careful." Marino replied.  
"But that wound wasn't there when we last saw her!" Cinnamon argued.  
"Hey, that's right, we never got to get that close. I couldn't even steal it…" Marino remarked.  
Zero then kneeled in front of Ferham. "Can you tell us what happened?"  
"Zee, she can't speak in this condition." X responded.  
"Maybe Cinnamon should heal her after all." Massimo suggested.  
Axl nodded in response. "Who knows, she'll probably feel more like talking."  
"Yay!"

Ferham couldn't make out who was saying what. The chatter sounded like unwelcome noise to her. It's so loud. Silence was better. It helped her sleep the pain away. The sound of footsteps grated in her ears, but shortly afterwards, the burning lessened. This time, instead of cold, there was warmth.

After a few seconds, while some of the pain remained, she was able to sit up. Her eyes met the team that trashed her just some time ago. How long has it been? Minutes? Hours? It doesn't matter anymore, she's lost anyways.

"What happened?" X asked.  
"Why do you care?" Ferham spat, "That's rich, coming from someone who, well, beat me up."  
"To be fair, we didn't hit your head, nor did we do that." Zero replied, pointing at the ravaged orange choker-like metal around Ferham's neck.  
"That was where the warhead key was. Botos took it. Happy now?"  
"Wha—why would he do such a thing?" X questioned.  
"How should I know?" Ferham responded, raising her voice. "I was here, wounded. Everything hurts like hell. He came here…I thought he wanted to help, but then…! He just…had to…!"  
She then gritted her teeth and shut her eyes tight. If she had the energy, she would throw a full-blown temper tantrum and let it all out.

"I…I'm sorry…he did that to you." Cinnamon weakly said.

Ferham's only response was a weak wail before she burst into tears.  
"I don't understand at all! We spent all that time fighting and working together! Even in the facility, we were all there for each other! But why…"

Axl bit his lip as something stung inside him.  
"He…betrayed you?"  
"Damn right, he did! He had the guts to lie to me, told me Epsilon wanted to retreat back to base, but all he wanted was the goddamn key!"

"What would he be using it for?" X questioned.  
"I don't know. What I know is, Epsilon doesn't intend to fire that thing anytime soon. But…Botos…god knows what's going through his mind." Ferham replied.  
X then walked towards Ferham before crouching to get to her level. "I'm sorry we have to leave you here, but we need to get the key from him."  
"Go. Just go."

X stood up before nodding. The rest of his team followed him as he ran to leave the room, to search for Botos. Ferham stared at the group of six as she sat alone.

"How long has it been since we were last together like that?"

She moved back towards the pillar she leaned on when Botos entered the room. Some rest would be good for her now that she can at least move a little bit. Her communicator's broken, so she can't call for medical help, but maybe a Preon Doc or a Preon Nurse stumbles across the room to find her there. Hopefully…

Meanwhile, at the top of the missile silo, Botos had opened the missile using the key, revealing the Supra-Force Metal inside.

"This is it…I'm going to take this, I'm going to become all-powerful, no one's gonna stop me. I can just run…run away, maybe sell this thing off, change my name, change my armour, live a nice life somewhere safe…far away from this place!" he ranted as he gingerly pulled the metal away from the missile.

Once the metal was completely removed from the missile, Botos grinned widely and laughed. The sound of his laughter echoed in the room.

"Finally! I've had it with this stupid 'Liberion!' Epsilon and the others are way over their heads! Ideals and morals don't prevent anyone from pushing us around! Power does! If he'd just stop nursing that stupid pipe dream of his, we would've probably been much better off! Well, who cares now—"  
"You're not the only one who thinks so."

Botos jumped at the unknown voice responding to him. Was someone been watching him the entire time, hiding in that room? But only Cadres like him know the password to that room…

"Who are you? Show yourself!" he yelled, turning to the direction of the voice. The light of the Supra-Force Metal revealed a tiny insect reploid, which then transformed into a humanoid reploid. In the dark room illuminated only by the light from the metal, Botos could make out that the reploid has black-and-white armour and is wearing something like a fedora.

"Just a New-Gen with his own pipe dream."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** WOW. It's been more than a month. Really sorry for the silence! I was really sick. It was horrible. When I was writing about how "moving burned," trust me, I know how it feels. Walking was a major pain. I haven't felt that HORRIBLE all my life...as far as I'm concerned, I suppose. I don't know which is less painful, my ear hurting last October, or that. Either way, I'd rather have neither. _

_Oh yeah, I retconned Ferham's warhead key, somewhat. In-game, it's installed into her body, but since she wasn't meant to house a warhead that wasn't even built around the time she was being built, and because it would be hard to actually use it if it's inside her body, I had to retcon it to be the pink gem in the choker-like orange metal thing.  
Because not only would it suffice to store something that was built after Epsilon formed the Liberion/Rebellion somewhere external, it's also something most people would overlook. People would think that the key is in the crystal on her helmet, or the one below her chest. Well, at least I think those were the most likely spots at first glance._


	61. Reality

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 61: Reality**

"Can I take the bus to Central Tower, please?"  
"No!"

Everyone in the port of New Hope watched the argument between Scarface and the airbus staff intently. All of them froze in their tracks at the sight of the big bushy-haired Cadre in yellow armour politely asking for a ticket.

"I'll pay the bus fare."  
"I said no!"  
"I'll pay double."  
"No!"  
"Triple?"  
"For the last time, NO! I know you want to fight. I'm not letting you massacre everyone in there again!"  
"We uh, didn't kill anyone in there—"  
"Yeah, yeah, I know, you just drove the humans out and took the reploids hostage. I'm still not letting you take the bus either way. Get it?"  
"But please…"  
"No."

Scarface heaved a sigh at being constantly rejected. He then scratched his head for a moment before finally speaking again.

"Are you so afraid of X and his team losing to me? If you're confident that they'll win, then there's no problem with me passing through, right?"  
"What kind of idiot do you take me for? I'm not gonna let you through just because of a few pretty words."

Scarface's lips twitched behind his mask.

"Go home. You're scaring everyone else here. You wanna try killing me to get through, then there's no one to call the bus for you." The airbus staff ordered.  
"That's insane, I wouldn't kill you—"

Scarface suddenly stopped speaking when an airbus passed in front of the stop, its door opening to reveal X's team.

"On second thought, I won't be taking the bus after all."

The airbus staff raised a brow before looking out of the post.  
"It's the Hunters! We're saved!"

Upon hearing the staff's announcement, everyone quickly ran for cover as X's party left the bus, knowing that there surely would be a big fight there, and no one wants to be caught in the crossfire. Soon enough the port was empty, as even the staff has left.

"You again," X angrily said, "What do you want now?"  
"I came here to avenge my friends and retrieve the Supra-Force Metal. You killed Botos and took it, didn't you?" Scarface replied.  
"No. We found him dead in the warhead room, and the metal was already gone when we arrived." Axl corrected.  
"We thought you were the one who killed him." Zero added.  
"No. He may be a traitor, but we'll never resort to killing him." Scarface answered.  
"But if you don't have it, then who could it be? The only ones in Melda are us and, well, your forces." Marino questioned.  
"Then you could be lying." Scarface argued.  
"Hell, no! Why would we lie about it?" Axl yelled.  
"Oh well, it doesn't matter whether you're lying or not. I still need to get you out of the way either way." Scarface replied.

"Wait! We don't need to fight!" X said, making a "stop" gesture with his hand, "If you could tell us why you did this, maybe we can work something out!"  
Scarface scoffed. "Did he tell you anything?" he said, turning towards Axl. "Or did he lie to you and said terrible things instead?"  
"We asked him, and he told the truth. Professor Gaudile and Professor Tezuka suggested that your entire group be retired, right? And that's why you fought back?" X answered.  
"See, you know already. So what's the point in asking?"  
"We still don't know why it escalated into this. Why did you decide to take over Giga City?"  
"We decided that reploids need a safe haven all to themselves. A reploid nation, if you will. We haven't even turned maverick, but they already decided that they have no choice but to retire us just because we're too powerful. Then what's the point of making us powerful in the first place? Just because they can? Or is it because reploids are disposable tools? Hell, no. We have lives, and you should know, of all people, that you don't toy with lives."  
"But this…this isn't the way you're supposed to go about it."  
"What other options do we have?"

X went silent.

"I presented other options. You refused all of them. Remember?" Axl spoke up. "You could've just ran away. Make everyone else forget about you for a while, then settle down peacefully. It didn't have to come to this."  
"It doesn't matter anymore. It's already come to this." Scarface replied, hanging his head. "We've gone too far to turn back. If we stop now and surrender, we're going to be retired anyway. If we're going down, we're going down fighting."  
"What if we defend you in court?"  
"You'll fail. I appreciate the sentiment, but the world won't forgive us. They'll never listen to us. They'll say what you did just now, that we didn't have to do this."

"Mister?"

Cinnamon spoke up, and everyone turned towards her.

"I'm…I'm sorry for what the Professor did," she continued, "If…if he didn't…then maybe…maybe things would've turned out better."

Scarface smiled a small, sad smile under his mask.  
"I appreciate it, little girl. I wish we didn't have to do this, either. But we can't turn back anymore. We either win or die."

"What if I told you that you don't know the whole story?" Axl said as he revealed a piece of paper.  
"What?" Scarface responded, raising his brow before trying to take the paper, "Give me that."  
"No." Axl said, moving his hand away from Scarface's. "Look, don't touch. This is the only copy I could salvage from Lagrano. Read it aloud, please, for everyone to hear."  
"Alright…um. Orders to be obeyed at all costs…neutralize all the survivors…in any way…after all the experiments are finished. Don't…let them become threats…" Scarface read it, his voice getting shakier as he progressed, "And…whose signature…is this…? It's…this is…"  
"The orders the professors had to obey, that's right. Maybe if this experiment is investigated, you guys might be pardoned. These orders just prove how unethical the whole thing was." Axl retorted.

Scarface gritted his teeth as tears dripped down his one eye, down his mask. He whimpered lowly as he shook, and then his weapon manifested in his hand.

"AAAAARGH! I'm through! I'm sick of this goddamned world toying with reploids every chance they get! You…all of you…FIGHT ME! Fight me!"

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** __I didn't expect to release another chapter so quickly after just releasing one. But thanks to a certain MsiaFanWriter_ _, my motivation to finish this chapter increased, coupled with my own desire to wrap up the Command Mission arc. But still, I won't be rushing through it. I still want to write a good story. I'd rather take it slow and sweet.  
Anyways, I somewhat wanted to explain why you can go to Scarface whenever you want at the start of Chapter 9 as opposed to him storming the base with no prior warning for the player, outside of good game design. It turned into a hilarious moment of Scarface being the gentleman Capcom intended him to be, a characterization I don't mind going along with. I find the lines Capcom wrote for him to be incredibly cheesy, though. _

_Anyways, Scarface snapped. It was unexpected to me, but I also think of it as a refreshing, humanizing touch since he's just. So. Stoic throughout the whole game, it's unnerving._ _I know they wanted to show that the Rebellion/Liberion's not all bad, and they use the Cadres sans Botos to show it, but still, everyone's got a breaking point. Botos broke, Ferham broke, and then it's Scarface's turn to break.  
_

 _As an aside, I read through TViYH and wow, I noticed the grammar mistakes I made in the previous chapters, but...I can't be assed to go back and revise them one...by one...by one._


	62. A Bitter Pill to Swallow

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 62: Bitter Pill to Swallow**

After a long fight, Scarface was launched a few feet away, landing on the ground with a loud thud.

"U…uuugh…" he groaned as he tried to get up.  
"Please, don't move yet," X said as he lowered his buster, "Have you calmed down?"  
"I guess…ugh! I needed that." Scarface replied as he tried to get up, propping himself with his deactivated double-saber.  
"Will you come quietly, now? If we can just investigate the whole story…" Axl said.  
"No. We can't." Scarface responded before coughing. "We'll end up dead even if the professors are punished. No apologies can erase the damage that's done, including ours."  
"Then…if you know that, why stir up trouble?" Massimo questioned.  
"We need to take risks to achieve something," Scarface replied, "Granted, we didn't start out taking so much risk. Epsilon ordered us not to attack unless provoked. He wanted to make a point. But…well, I know I needed to come."

"If you guys aren't trying to do anything too crazy, then why bother creating the Supra-Force Metal warhead? That's a real crazy thing to do." Zero argued.  
"We didn't create it. None of us have enough skills or time to do that. We found it in Melda, along with its schematics. When Ferham went there, she met the owner of the ore plant, a reploid. He always wanted to build something like that, and he was almost done. The only thing he needed to finish it was the Supra-Force Metal. He ended up cooperating with us." Scarface explained.

"Wait…what? But why?" X blurted out.  
"We're not the only ones who want to secure a territory for reploids alone. If we weren't there, you'd probably be fighting him instead of us." Scarface added.  
"This is insane! Why was such a weapon created in the first place? This world's seen enough warheads, enough destruction!" X yelled.  
"To be fair, we don't want to use it, either. We spent hours convincing the owner that we won't fire it unless absolutely necessary. And we hope it'll never come to that."  
"If you don't want to use it, why keep it?"  
"As a threat. So we can say, 'leave us alone or we shoot.' In hindsight, we probably should've followed through to prevent everyone else from dying, but…that's just not right."  
"Exactly! It would cause a maverick epidemic! Not all reploids can survive the effects of Supra-Force Metal!"  
"I know. But talking about this is pointless. We've lost the Supra-Force Metal. We can't fire it either way. I'm returning to base. The next time we see each other…I won't hesitate anymore."

As soon as he finished speaking, a few coloured blurs was launched towards his head. He quickly waved his huge double-saber to at least deflect them. And indeed he deflected them…and Marino caught them—her Stella weapons.

"Tch. Missed…"  
"So much for trying for peaceful solutions, huh?" Scarface muttered as he turned around to leave.

As Scarface left the area, everyone else in X's party turned to Marino. Cinnamon in particular puffed her cheeks and X frowned.

"What? He said it himself that he won't be giving us mercy." Marino said, defending herself.  
"Well, she's right. It's unavoidable either way. They won't be giving up. Shame those things aren't invisible." Zero remarked. "Did he break them?"  
"Let me try it…" she said as she tried to activate them, but they don't light up anymore. "Yeah, he did…crud, now I have to buy new ones."

Some time later, Scarface had successfully limped his way to Grave Ruins Base, and Epsilon was waiting for him in the entrance.

"Scarface! Why did you run off on your own?" Epsilon called out to him as he ran towards the injured Scarface.  
"I…needed to do something." He replied.  
"Just…we could've waited for them to come here. Ferham's almost completely patched up, so…so…argh, nevermind. Let's go."  
"I'm sorry."  
"You did what you thought was right." Epsilon replied as he lifted Scarface up. "Just sleep. I'll carry you inside."

"Hey! Scarface! Why did you up and do that?" Ferham's voice was audible through Epsilon's communicator. Epsilon flinched because of how loud she was, but Scarface just smiled.  
"Nice to know you've returned to normal." Scarface remarked.  
"Ferham, that hurts. Why didn't you set up a conference call?" Epsilon whined.  
"Oh, yeah, sorry." Ferham replied sheepishly before setting it up. "Test, test, test…"  
"Yeah, I'm good. So, let's hear it." Scarface replied.  
"We could have the three of us fight the six of them! It would be more of a fair fight. Now YOU have to be the one being patched up like a broken teddy bear!" Ferham ranted.  
"I was reckless. There were nine of us, ten if you count Shadow, and now we're down to three. We lost one of our Supra-Force Metal pieces, too, so I just…I lost it." Scarface admitted.  
"Well…I understand how you feel." Ferham replied. "We lost our friends and territories…but then again, Giga City didn't belong to us to begin with."

"Speaking of that…" Epsilon said, "Scarface. I heard your conversation with De-Axl. What was with those orders?"  
"I…ugh, yeah, it turns out we were…they knew we were going to die from the very beginning! It just makes me sick, we were played for fools all this time, I…"  
"Ugh, just as I thought things couldn't be any worse." Ferham groaned. "Epsilon, you remember who ordered the experiment, right? You heard it from the professors…"  
"How could I forget? That Colonel Redips…did you get to find out who it was?"  
"No. I…I unfortunately…didn't get to ask them. I snapped before I had the chance."  
"It's alright, Scarface. I'll see if I can get it from them." Epsilon replied.  
"Talking didn't work, Epsilon." Scarface replied.  
"It's still worth a try."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:**_ _I don't have a lot of comments on this one, mostly that I want to explain HOW that big-ass warhead got there in the first place considering how the Liberion started out-I mean, they're not as grand as they are in-game, since they're a "ragtag bunch of misfits." And I also want to explain how Ferham survived to the end of Chapter 10._


	63. Face to Face

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 63: Face to Face**

"Epsilon, things aren't going so well." Ferham's voice was audible through the intercom, "X's party mowed down all our PREONs."

Epsilon bit his lip. Ferham is the best at controlling PREONs, and they reserved the most powerful ones for Grave Ruins Base, but then again...

"Heh heh…we…really have been declawed, huh? If only Ulfat was still under our control…" Scarface remarked from his maintenance bed, before turning to Epsilon, who was sitting by his bedside.

"The three of us are still here." Epsilon stated.  
"Then has Scarface gotten better?" Ferham asked.  
Epsilon sighed. "No. Not 100 percent, at least. Just 60 percent."  
"That's good enough, I can fight." Scarface protested.

Epsilon went silent.

"It's still too dangerous. They roughed you up really bad when you were in top condition. Fighting at 60 percent…is…it's just…"

He then ended his speech with a sigh.

"Ferham, Scarface…you two just stay here. I'm sorry I dragged you down into this. I'll take responsibility on my own. If I don't survive…live the way you want to."  
"What? Epsilon, that's bullshit!" Scarface yelled.  
"Explain all this!" Ferham demanded.  
"I…it was wrong for me to send all of you to die for an ideal. This is all my fault. Enough people have died because of it. Let me be the last."  
"Aren't we all in this together?" Ferham pleaded.  
"Epsilon, you can't possibly be doing this." Scarface said.  
Epsilon chuckled. "Thanks for everything, guys, but…goodbye, and take care. X's team is waiting."

He then stepped outside without a word, without looking back. He walked down the empty, dim-lit halls before opening the gate to the Grave Ruins Base atrium. A few moments after he arrived, the other door opened to reveal X's party.

His eyes were immediately locked on Axl, who gripped both of his guns tight.

"It's over, Epsilon. Your warhead's out of metal, and you're alone." Zero stated, drawing his saber.  
X wordlessly pointed his buster at Epsilon, who didn't budge. His eyes were fixated on Axl, who was glaring at him.

"Why are you still doing this?" he finally spoke, "You talk about peace, and a better world, but this…this is just crazy."

Epsilon didn't say a single word in response.

"What's wrong? You're the leader of the Liberion Army, right? Say something. Tell us how important your ideals are." Axl taunted.

Silence.

"Or did you come out here to die?" Axl said again, finally pointing his gun at Epsilon, whose eyes widened when he recognized the somewhat familiar shape of the weapon—Gaudile's Anti-Force Metal Gun.  
"If so, then die already." Axl said lowly, before he fired a shot at Epsilon.

Epsilon reflexively moved to block the shot, but Axl stared blankly. It wasn't going to work.

"I…I've been working on this ever since this crisis started," Gaudile had confessed privately to Axl, shortly before the party went to Grave Ruins base, "You were right that I'm at fault for this. I'm sorry."

"Wait, isn't this…"

"The new and improved Anti-Force Metal Gun." Gaudile said with a sad, weary smile, as he handed the gun over to Axl. "I think…it would be of great use to you."

Axl bit his lip, hung his head, and his arms trembled for a few moments. Gaudile shrank, anticipating a cold remark, rejection, or an outburst. Instead, Axl reached his arm out to gently take the gun.

"Thank you."

When the bullet hit, the loud scream of a man followed. Axl's eyes widened at the sight in front of him, and the rest of the party was equally surprised.

Kneeling in front of Epsilon was Scarface, whose body was smoking as a result of the impact.

"Scarface! What have you done?" Epsilon yelled. "Didn't I tell you to run away with Ferham?"  
"How could we abandon you?" Scarface replied, his voice shaky and low.  
"Scarface. I chose to go alone. Leave this place!"  
"And I chose to stay with you until the bitter end." Scarface responded, propping himself up with his weapon.  
"You…you can't do this…"

Scarface didn't say a word in response, and activated his weapon instead.

"You want to die so badly? For scum like him? Then die." Axl lowly remarked.  
"What do you know about him? You don't know anything." Scarface retorted.  
"More than you'll ever know." Axl replied, transforming both of his guns into the G-Launcher, and shot explosives at Scarface.

Scarface was able to dodge, but because of the size of the projectiles, he was partially burned on the side. He then dashed towards X's party, only for X's charge shot to hit him. He stopped moving, and instead struggled to keep standing. Massimo took advantage of the opening to attack his burned shoulder. One slice wasn't enough—his weapon was embedded in Scarface's shoulder. But then he puts more pressure on it, severing the arm.

"Scarface! Stop this!" Epsilon yelled.

Scarface didn't say a word, activating Electro Breaker to heal himself a bit. Everyone tried to dodge, but Cinnamon's energy was successfully transferred towards him.

Marino gritted her teeth and threw her weapons.  
"You piece of shit!"

Her Stella weapons hit his good arm. But even so, Scarface was still able to hold his weapon. Deciding to whittle the party one by one, he tries his shot at paralyzing them, activating his Plasma Array. A big electric force field then filled most of the room.

When the force field subsided, X's party was revealed to have difficulties moving. Scarface then smirked at the sight of his success before charging towards the closest one to him—Zero.

However, Zero responded by pointing his saber forwards. Scarface, who was moving too fast to stop, was impaled on the chest as a result. As Scarface froze in shock, Zero pulled off his saber and moved away before Scarface could hit back. Marino, who was still able to move quickly, dashed towards him, quickly unsheathed her beam dagger and sliced Scarface's one good eye.

"Aaaa…aaaargh!"

Scarface screamed as his world turned fully black, the sharp pain immobilizing him. He dropped his weapon to cover his sliced eye.

"Enough!" Epsilon yelled as he ran, stopping to stand in front of Scarface, facing X's party. "Your opponent is me!"

However, there was a whistle from behind him. Epsilon quickly looked back to find Axl pointing the Anti-Force Metal Gun at Scarface's head, the barrel touching the top of the head. Scarface was held in place by Axl stepping on his back, like Scarface was a wild animal he had just successfully hunted.

"Please," Axl said before nonchalantly pulling the trigger. The shot fries Scarface's electronic brain, and caused a small explosion that shattered his head, as if it was merely a popped bubble. "He chose to die, right? No matter how much you didn't want him to. Why shouldn't I honour his choice like I honoured yours?"

Epsilon's trembled.

"Now, you chose to walk away and die a long time ago. I'm going to grant your wish."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Well, this chapter experienced a lot of concept changes, mainly where Axl/Delta's would speak and what he would say. After all, it's Delta's first reunion with Epsilon in forever. If anyone's wondering what happened to Ferham...I'll need to write it in the next chapters._

 _But still, the biggest change was that I ended up writing in Scarface's fight. I intended to just skip it. But still, I don't regret writing it in. Although instead of the "epic, awesome" last stand the game intends it to be, it ends up being a "pitiful, tearjerking" one instead. I don't regret that one either. I want to depict the sad side of the Liberion slowly crumbling away. It's satisfying progress for the player (trust me-i replayed chapter 9 just to write the fight against epsilon), but imagine being the one to watch your friends die one...by one...by one. There's no glory in it, and I want to show it._


	64. Once More

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 64: Once More**

After finishing Scarface off, Axl quickly drew the Anti Force-Metal gun to shoot Epsilon in the head. He reflexively covers his face with his arm, which fizzed with electricity in impact, causing him to hiss in pain. When Epsilon moved his arm away from his face, Axl's armour had turned white, his brown hair purple, and his eyes yellow.

"Remember this?"

Axl then smirked when Epsilon froze in his tracks. Epsilon stayed that way, even when Marino's Stella weapons hit his back. After a few moments, however, he just nonchalantly pulled it off his back, like an aging person pulling off their white hair. Only then did Axl stop smirking.

Marino stared at the sight in horror. "What the hell is this?"  
"It's Epsilon. Of course he's going to be super strong and everything." Massimo replied.  
"It doesn't matter. He's all alone." Zero remarked.  
X just looked at him sadly before turning to Scarface's headless body. "I…guess so. But…Epsilon, you don't have to fight. We can stop this."

Epsilon didn't say anything.

"It's useless, X. He's chosen to die a long time ago." Axl replied flatly.  
"No…it's not true!" Epsilon cried out, as he turned to punch Axl, who quickly dodged.  
"What? Isn't it true? All the time you spent living a normal-ish life didn't mean anything to you, right? Obviously your ideals are more important than whatever or whoever you left behind." Axl responded, before quickly aiming at Epsilon's abdomen and shooting. The shot hit him, and he cried out as smoke came out of the wound.

"Axl, stop it!" X yelled, "Epsilon…if you don't want to die, then maybe you can try surrendering?"  
Before Epsilon could answer, Axl laughed. "Aw, c'mon, X. Think about it. Everyone knows that reploids get killed when they start shit. Right, Epsilon? He's obviously thought it through."

X tensed as the realization hits him.  
"Axl has a point," Zero added, "They used to be civilians. Being infused with Supra-Force Metal gave them a power high. That's why they dared to do all this. When they're overpowered, they get scared of dying just like everyone else."  
"Exactly. He thought it through…but not hard enough!" Axl said before pulling the trigger. But this time, Epsilon was able to move away, and the shot disappeared a few distances away.

Watching his shot miss, Axl clicked his tongue. "You're wasting my time."  
He then high-jumped away, before landing right beside Zero. The moment X's party saw him with them, he turned invisible.

"Wait, Axl, what are you doing? What if we hit you?" X asked.  
"This way, no one can see me shoot." Axl replied.  
"Good thinking." Zero responded.

After seeing the group gathered in one spot, Epsilon proceeds to attack with Ultra-Giga Fire, hoping that it'll do something. He could see X, Zero, Marino, Cinnamon, and Massimo running away, smoke coming out of parts of them as they ran. But then suddenly came another shot from the Anti Force-Metal gun heading for his head. Epsilon moved his head away just in time—the shot only grazed his cheek.

Even so, it was very painful. His head pounded. The wound stung horribly. The pain numbed the rest of his face. He tried covering the wound with his hand, only for it to hurt even more.

"Epsilon…" X spoke out. "I know you don't really want to do this."

Even focusing his gaze on X takes great effort. The pain was overwhelming.

"Let's just stop this, okay?" X said again. "We'll go to court. We'll investigate the experiment."  
"There's…no turning back. I'll…be retired…for what I did…anyways…" Epsilon replied.  
"We wouldn't know if we don't try!"  
"I…I don't want to."

Epsilon then removed all his restraints—the poles embedded on his shoulder. Immediately, his wounds heal and the pain stops.

"Oh, shit." Zero cursed as Epsilon got more powerful.  
"X…talking's not working. If you want to tell him to stop, you should've done it before he ransacked Giga City." Axl said before firing.

Epsilon was faster and more perceptive this time, and dodged the shot.

"You should've done it before he underwent the experiments."

Bang.

"Surely, the intention to take over Giga City and make it some 'reploid haven' didn't come out of nowhere. It has to be pre-planned. Right, Epsilon?"

Another shot.

"Who knows how long he's thought of this?"

Epsilon dodged another shot, but something inside his chest stings.

"You should've told him to stop when he left his old life for this. But then again, what's one person compared to the whole of reploidkind?"

He dodged yet again. But the pain in his chest intensified. It burns.

"Haha…I guess some people really are worthless. Worthless enough to be abandoned."  
"It's…not true…" Epsilon muttered in response.  
"Axl, what are you talking about?" X questioned. "You stop this!"  
"Sure." Axl replied as he stopped being invisible, although his armour is still white. "I keep missing anyways."

"Axl's got a point, though. Say he's pardoned…but what if he starts another crisis? One for all." Zero remarked.  
"But, Zero…I can feel it. He doesn't have it in his own heart to fight." Cinnamon protested.  
"Cinnamon, he knows he's dead either way," Marino said, "Suppose he kills us. So what? The Resistance and the Maverick Hunters will just send more after him, and he'll be on his own."  
"We have retaken the major facilities of Giga City. He won't be able to hold his own for long, even if he survives. It would be mercy to put him down now." Massimo added.

"You guys…" X said. "No, I refuse to believe that death is the answer! Not this time! Not again!"  
"Dammit, did you even listen to what we said?" Marino snapped. "If he lives, it'll just delay the inevitable! Who can forgive or defend a city-hijacking terrorist? You answer!"

X's eyes went wide as he was stunned into silence.

"Epsilon…what are you fighting for?" Zero asked as he pointed his Z-Saber at Epsilon. "Your comrades are gone. You don't have any territories or resources anymore. You can't crawl out of the hole you've dug yourself into. Why are you still fighting?"

"You want a place where reploids can live properly, right? You don't want reploids to be treated like tools, do you?" X said, "Maybe if you tell your story, the world will listen and both humans and reploids can get closer to harmony. You don't have to use force. Let's stop this. Please."

"I can't…go back…" Epsilon muttered. Right after he spoke, a shot hit his head, shattering his shades and knocking him backwards. He then convulsed on the ground, crying in pain.

"It was stupid to unleash the Supra-Force Metal's full power when I have this in my hands." Axl said, holding the Anti Force-Metal gun.

"Axl!" X yelled.  
"He said it himself, X. He can't go back. And it's true. Who will give him a pardon? It would be a mercy to just kill him here." Axl nonchalantly replied as he squeezed the gun's trigger.  
"No…no one has to be so resigned to their fate like this. It's not fair…" X said as his voice cracked.  
"If there's one thing I agree with him on, X, it's that this world is a shithole."

Axl then threw the Anti Force-Metal gun at Epsilon. It glows a brilliant white. The moment it landed on the ground, right in front of Epsilon's feet, it explodes, sending a huge shockwave. When the smoke cleared away, it reveals Epsilon with his lower half blown off and the rest of him ravaged horribly, lying on the ground with electricity fizzing all over what remains of his body.

"It…hurts…some…one, please k-kill…me…"

Seeing the defeated Epsilon beg for death, X's eyes widened as tears flowed down his cheeks. He then aims his buster at Epsilon...only for Axl to walk over to him and extended his arm sideways, in front of X, as if asking him to stop.

As he reverted away from his "White Axl" colour scheme to normal, he then walked to Epsilon and crouched to look at Epsilon's face, and he gazes at Axl's vacant green eyes and small frown. Axl closed Epsilon's eyes with one hand and manifested one Axl Bullet in his other hand.

"Goodbye, Delta. I missed you. I'm sorry." Epsilon whispered.  
Axl's eyes widened in shock, but then he closed his eyes and smiled.  
"Don't worry. I won't let you become a trophy."

After gently placing the barrel right on his forehead, Axl pulled the trigger. The shot punched a hole in Epsilon's head, and when Axl moved his hand away from Epsilon's eyes, it didn't open.

As teardrops formed in his eyes, Axl stands back up, still gazing at Epsilon's dead body. He then lifts one foot, and stomps on his head with a crunch.

* * *

 ** _AUTHOR'S NOTES:_** _Oh. My. Lord. I have so many things to say about this chapter...but in a more meta kind of sense, since the contents of the chapter itself does not require further elaboration aside from the fact that I know how it feels to be abandoned out of nowhere, so I'm writing Axl/Delta from experience. Except I didn't even get a goodbye. Anyways._

 _This, the chapter where Epsilon dies, is chapter 64. 64 is 4X4X4. It's hilarious because I always half-jokingly associated Delta with the number 4, the "death number" of East Asia because so many horrible things happen to him. I even made his birthday August 16 as part of the gag (4X4 and 4+4). But even with all the death associations, he *SPOILERS FOR FUTURE CHAPTERS OOPS NEVERMIND*_  
 _And second, I was at a loss at how this chapter would go until I went "fukkit i'mma just do it." At first, X would really shoot and leave Epsilon a head for Axl/Delta to kill, but it would transform the moment from tear jerker to darkly hilarious. And speaking of tear jerker, I turned Epsilon's fight from epic to pathetic like I did with Scarface, mostly because Epsilon's final battle was really lackluster in the game and, as pointed out by some of the characters, Epsilon's in deep shit whether he wins or loses, and he knows it. So everyone really knows that it's pointless for Epsilon to fight, especially Epsilon himself._

 _At first I wrote this to be the biggest chapter yet, but it got so big and I had to cut it into two.  
_


	65. All That Glitters

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 65: All That Glitters**

When Axl stepped back from Epsilon's destroyed head, he noticed something glowing among the pieces.

"What is…this?" Axl muttered as he picked it up. It was hexagonal in shape like all the other Force Metal pieces, but it emits a golden glow. In all his experience as an assistant in Jasmine's Force Metal shop, he had never seen such a thing. Given where it came from and how it looks like, it must be…

"X! Everybody, good job! Did you get his Supra-Force Metal?"

Axl turned his head around as he heard an unfamiliar voice from the entrance. Everyone else in the whole party turned around as well, to see Colonel Redips walking towards them.

"All of you are great heroes. You worked hard to bring down the Rebellion." Colonel Redips complimented the party with a small smile, only for the smile to disappear when he saw that X didn't respond. "It must've been a struggle." He then remarked. X just nodded slowly in response.

"Don't sweat it, X." Zero said, placing his hand on X's shoulder, "Despite all their big talk, the Rebellion army's actions were still maverick. We did the right thing."  
"Zero's right. You saved Giga City." Redips replied as he looked at the entire party. He then paused when he saw Axl, standing far away from the rest of the group.

"Excuse me," he said as he walked past the other party members, towards Axl, who was standing in front of Epsilon's body. Axl warily looked at Redips, who chuckled in response as he alternated between looking at Axl's face like how people normally do when talking and looking at the glowing object in Axl's hand.

"Former S-Class Hunter Axl. I don't believe we have been introduced. I am Colonel Redips, the one leading this operation. I see you were the one to land the final blow."

Axl nodded lightly, still looking at Redips' face. The moment he finished speaking, his eyes were fixated on the metal in his hand.

"And you got his Supra-Force Metal, too." Redips added as he quickly took the Supra-Force Metal piece from Axl's hand. "Outstanding."  
"Hey!" Axl yelped in shock. "What—"  
"Oh, I'm sorry. That was rude of me. But you don't need to worry. I'm confiscating it. You saw for yourself how the power of Supra-Force Metal can be used for evil."

Axl looked away and sighed.

"I know what you're talking about, Colonel. That thing…has a terrible power. It can change people." He said, his voice monotonous.  
"Exactly. I'll keep it safe, so don't you worry. Regardless, on behalf of the Maverick Hunters, I'd like to thank you for fighting for the people even after your retirement."  
Axl nodded slowly. "You're welcome, I suppose."

Colonel Redips then saluted at Axl before turning back to the rest of the party, walking towards X and Zero.

"I'll be arranging for a ship to pick you two up. You will be required to report about this operation." He declared, "It won't arrive immediately. Give or take, one working day or two. It looks like you've made some new friends, so you can take your time saying your goodbyes."

"Um, Colonel…" Cinnamon spoke up, "It's not gonna be goodbye forever, right? X and Zero can come again, right?"  
"Oh, it's you. The Force—ahem, Professor Gaudile's daughter, Cinnamon. Well, if you want to see them more often, maybe you can come with me, join the Maverick Hunters." Redips replied, "You have the Force Metal Generator, right? We can really use your help."  
"Umm…thank you. But I'll have to ask the Professor first." Cinnamon responded, taking one step back.  
"Oh, I see. Then in that case, only X and Zero will be boarding the ship—"

"Wait! Just X and Zero?" Axl called out to Redips, running towards him, "I'll come. I was there when the Libe—Rebellion started the crisis. I want to tell them everything that happened before X and Zero got here."  
"I agree. We communicated with him before we went to Giga City." Zero added.  
"Axl, too? Well, then if he wants to, then I don't have to have to issue any orders for you to come." Redips replied.

"I uh, Colonel?" Massimo spoke up, and Redips turned to him.  
"What is it?"  
"I think we should talk about this in base. Chief R would need to know about the ship and stuff, right?"  
"Oh, yes. How silly of me. Let's go back, everyone."

Redips stepped back to the entrance and everyone else followed him. Axl looked back one last time before leaving the room with the rest of the party.

Some time later, loud banging was heard in Grave Ruins Base medbay.

"Dammit, Scarface!" Ferham yelled as she finally destroyed the locking mechanism of the room where Scarface's maintenance bed was. "I performed the emergency wakeup so we can back Epsilon up, but you just HAD to lock me up in here! 'It's too dangerous for you' my ass! Well, guess what!"

She kicked the door down with a grunt before running towards the door leading to the battle arena. The moment she opened the door, the only thing she found were Epsilon's and Scarface's dead bodies.

As tears welled up in her eyes, Ferham fell to her knees and sobbed.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Welp, this is the other half of Chapter 64 that I separated after finally finding that good cut-off point. Because this originated from a segment, this is probably the shortest chapter ever. I came up with Redips soliciting Cinnamon before the split, but decided against adding it because it would drag an already long chapter that was supposed to center around Epsilon's death. But since I split it anyways, I added it to pad the chapter and show more of Redips's character and true motives.  
_


	66. Morning Dew

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 66: Morning Dew**

Axl gazed at the bright sunny sky with vacant eyes as he sat on the edge of the heliport. Even though it's all warm outside, inside, everything just feels so cold. Every single time he tried thinking, it hurts.

The door to the heliport opened, and X stepped out.  
"There you are."  
Axl was silent and unmoving for a moment, but then slowly looked back to see X walking towards him.  
"The sisters are here."  
"What?" came Axl's groan-y reply.  
"Jasmine, Cumin, and Saffron. They came all the way here to see you off." X replied, raising his eyebrows. "What's wrong?"  
"Haha…ha…just…nevermind. Thanks, X." Axl responded, getting up and walking past X, who watched him leave with a sad frown.

The door opened in front of Axl, who has a small, half-forced smile on his face, to reveal Jasmine, Cumin, and Saffron. Jasmine in particular looks like she was about to cry.

"I'm so happy you made it safely, Axl." She said, nearly sobbing.  
"I told you I wouldn't die that easily." He replied, somewhat flatly, still with the small, sad-ish smile on his face.  
"You look tired," Saffron noted, "Are you okay?"  
"I guess so. Yesterday was a tough battle."  
"Hey, perk up. You're getting a hero's welcome in Hunter Base. I don't wanna see THAT face in the news, got it?" Cumin said, laughing afterwards. Axl flashes a brief grin in response. She had a point.

"Are you going to come back to me—um, to the store? I really…I really appreciated the extra help." Jasmine asked.  
"Not sure about that…they're going to ask me a bunch of things, most likely. I can't promise anything just yet, but I'll give you updates whenever I can, alright?" Axl replied.  
Jasmine nodded with a smile in response. Cumin and Saffron just giggled behind her. Zero, who was leaning against the corridor before the heliport, then followed.

"What did you do in Giga City before the crisis, Axl?" Zero teased.  
"I. Worked. As a shop assistant." Axl answered with a huge grin of mock annoyance.  
"Besides that?"  
"Nothing much. Really."  
"Really?"  
"Really."  
"Ooooookay. If that's how it is." Zero said, flashing a cheshire grin of his own.

"Hey…"  
Axl looked back when he heard Jasmine's voice.  
"Yeah?"  
"I…I noticed that you're really tired…like something is weighing on you. Not just your mind. So…if you ever think that the life of a hunter is not for you, you'll always be welcome here. Okay?"  
Axl responded by making his best effort to make his smile wider. "Thanks, Jasmine."

"We'll be off now," Cumin replied, "We need to spruce up our shops. Keep in touch, alright?"  
"See you!" Saffron said, waving at Axl and Zero before walking away, Jasmine and Cumin behind her.

As soon as the sisters left the area, Axl returned to his nearly-blank expression.  
"Said your goodbyes yet, Zee?" he asked.  
"I have. X had, too. I haven't seen you until you left the heliport. And uh…you look like absolute hell."  
"I do?"  
"You look pale."  
"I uh, I do?"  
"Yep. One moment."

Zero walked to the heliport door, which opened when he approached it.  
"Hey, X!" he hollered to X, who was standing out in the open. "The sisters are gone."  
"Oh! Alright, Zee!"  
"Wait, what?" Axl blurted out.  
"He doesn't want to momentkill." Zero replied as X walked into the corridor.  
"You didn't frown all over them, did you?" X asked.  
"No, 'course not." Axl answered. "Ask Zero."  
"Well, he didn't. But it was like he's sick."

X bit his lip as he looked at Axl.  
"What's wrong, Axl? I've never seen you so…tired, exhausted."  
"Really? Huh…I guess you're right. I never felt this…dispirited."  
"Please, tell me what's going on. It's distressing seeing you like this. The Axl I know is a happy-go-lucky ball of energy. What happened?"  
"Eh…? I was?"  
"Wha…Axl…come on. We were joking with each other before and during this crisis. Something happened somewhere in the middle. Even though you can't tell me all of it, please, just a little bit?"

Axl looked away for a few seconds before looking back at X. Even then, his gaze wasn't focused on him.

"You could say that I've gotten disillusioned with this world."

X and Zero didn't say a word in response as they tensed. Everything started to connect together. His insistence that the Rebellion be talked down in the beginning, his outburst towards Prof. Gaudile when he set foot in Central Tower, his obvious distaste towards the possible ethics violation of the Supra-Force Metal experiment…

"Axl…"

X could only weakly respond as he remembered his friend's remark right before he landed the fatal blow on Epsilon.

"This world is a shithole."

Neither he nor Zero could take his eyes off their friend, who changed so much. Or did he even change that radically? Almost six years ago, he retired out of the blue from the Maverick Hunters without telling them.

"Please, Axl, tell me something, anything. What's going on? What's happened with you? What were you going through? It hurts seeing you like this."  
"We were…surprised. The first time we saw you, you were very eager to join the Hunters. But then you just…well, you know. Right?" Zero spoke up.

Axl's only response was to flash them a huge, genuine grin as tears flow down his face. X and Zero grimaced at the sight. The last time they saw him cry was sometime around the Red Alert crisis. He used to grin a lot, but they don't even remember when he last made such a big grin. He continued to sob while keeping his smile, and wiped his tears when the sound of an aircraft engine was heard in the corridor.

"Well…it's not the time for that," Axl replied as he tried to hide his voice cracking, "Cumin said I can't be photographed looking like this, remember? This isn't the face of a hero."  
"You better tell us, alright?" Zero responded, sighing.  
"Zero's right. We're maverick hunters, but we don't have to live up to that image 24/7. We're friends, so please…"

Axl responded by smiling widely at X. His eyes were stuffy and he still looks tired, but he still feels warm and fuzzy inside, somewhat.

"Let's go."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Do you know that when we get attached to someone, they have a piece of us with them? Sometimes we grieve over a loss for prolonged periods not because we miss the person-we've probably gone past missing *them* by then-but because we miss the piece of us they took with them. Have you ever felt that a big part of you disappeared with whoever left you behind?  
Also, I wasn't planning for the pre-pickup scene to be this long. I expected it to be short enough for me to be able to write the arrival of Redips's aircraft for this chapter, but it turns out this chapter is big enough already and that I have to write another chapter for it. The last parts (X and Zero asking Axl what's wrong) will be extra painful if you remember Axl's issues in the first chapters...  
_


	67. Hourglass Flip

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 67: Hourglass Flip**

As X, Zero, and Axl stepped out to the heliport, their newfound comrades followed them to see them off. Chief R followed, since he is the only representative of Giga City, given that the human government officials haven't returned yet. Obviously, he'd need to make a few statements to Redips, thanks from all of Giga City and all that. Meanwhile, Nana stayed in the base to make sure that the process goes smoothly.

Chief R looked up at Redips's huge vessel. It's far too grand for a simple pick-up job, but the Hunters saved a whole island. They can afford to be grand about it. He waved, and waved—even when guns came out of the vessel. It's going to shoot confetti, right?

That was just an assumption. Two bullets punched holes in Chief R's torso, causing him to stumble back from the impact.

"Wh…what…" Chief R stuttered as the holes in his chest fizzed with electricity.  
"Aaaaah! Chief R!" Cinnamon screamed.  
"Cinnamon, get inside! Quickly!" Marino said before pulling Cinnamon's hand and running back inside.  
Massimo dashed forwards and carried Chief R to the safety of Central Tower. It's a good thing they didn't hit his head, otherwise he would really be dead.

"What the everloving…" Axl muttered, freezing on his tracks, as he saw nautilus-like mechaniloids—Colonel Redips's Red Hubcaps—coming out of the vessel.  
"This doesn't look like a pickup event to me!" Zero yelled.  
"Damn it, what's going on?" X cursed as he shot the Red Hubcaps one by one.

After the Red Hubcaps were taken out, several knife-wielding humanoid reploids wearing yellow uniform armour got out of the vessel.

"These are Redips's guys! What the hell is he doing?" Zero screamed out.  
"Nothing personal, Sirs. Just orders." One of them replied.  
"It's just bullshit, and you know it!" Zero responded as he took out his Z-Saber.  
Axl gritted his teeth and drew both of his guns.

"FUCK…ALL OF YOU!"

Meanwhile, Chief R lay on the maintenance bed, tended to by Cinnamon and Gaudile. Marino and Massimo stayed by his side.

"What's going on…?" Chief R weakly questioned.  
"Nothing we know. I asked Nana. X, Zero, and Axl are not in this. They're fighting whatever the ship's throwing at them, so yeah." Marino replied.  
"I don't understand! I don't understand! Professor, please tell me! Why is this happening?" Cinnamon sobbed.  
"I…I'm sorry, Cinnamon. I don't understand all this, either." Prof. Gaudile replied as he hugged Cinnamon tightly.  
"Chief, what do you think we should do?" Massimo asked.  
"I don't know…" Chief R replied, "Let's think about it when they come back. They probably know something we don't."

Some time later, the vessel left after X, Zero, and Axl killed every single reploid and mechaniloid that it sent to kill them.

"Hah…hah…goddammit!" Axl cursed as he caught his breath, looking at the piles of scrap metal scattered around the heliport.  
"Looks like we're not going to return to HQ anytime soon." Zero grumbled.  
"Well, this is just a mess. Let's go back in—" X said, but he was interrupted by a loud announcement from the departing vessel.

"Now, we no longer have to fear the Rebellion sympathizers, led by X, who conspired with the Rebellion Army for Supra-Force Metal. Everyone, peace has prevailed! Peace for all reploids like us!"

"AAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGH!" X cried out as he shot futilely at the vessel multiple times. The shots faded away harmlessly a few distances away without hitting anything.  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Easy!" Zero said as he grabbed X by the shoulders. "You two quit it. Let's get back inside."

After positioning himself behind them and gingerly placing his hands on X and Axl's back, lightly pushing them, Zero helped them walk back to Central Tower. They first went to the control room to find a terrified Nana.

"What…what was that?" she asked.  
"I don't know either." Zero replied.  
"You three, heal up right away, okay? Well, until Chief R's done with the maintenance bed, that is…"  
"Is he okay?" X asked.  
"Hopefully. We can still save him." She answered.  
"Come on, let's go talk to him." Zero said. "Thanks, Nana."

They then headed for the maintenance room to find Chief R sitting on the maintenance bed, as well as Prof. Gaudile, Cinnamon, Marino, and Massimo.

"Hey…guys." Zero greeted them.  
"We heard the announcement," Marino responded, "It's just bul—baloney."  
"You had been nothing but a big help to us. Do you know why this is happening?" Chief R said.  
"I don't know. I really don't. We're all surprised." X huffed out.  
"If anything, the maverick here is your Colonel here. No offense…but he thought nothing of basically releasing his troops for an attack on Central Tower." Chief R remarked.  
"We couldn't agree more." Axl grumbled.

"How are we supposed to contact central HQ, though? The infrastructure hasn't been properly re-established. Their signals can't reach here yet. We don't even have internet yet…" X questioned.  
"Well, everyone, as luck would have it, we just happen to still have the huge emergency aircraft for evacuations. The Rebellion didn't know about it when they drove the humans out. I'm sure it can fit all of you." Chief R replied.  
"I uh, Chief, what exactly are you suggesting? You're not telling us to storm Redips's base in Far East HQ, right?" Zero responded.  
"I was suggesting exactly that. Do any of you mind?"  
"I uh, no. No, Sir." Zero said.  
"I'm not your superior, but can you find out what's going on for me? For Giga City?" Chief R requested.  
"You didn't have to ask." X replied with a small smile, and Axl nodded slowly.  
"Now, go and rest. You're all going to need it." Chief R said as he got up from the maintenance bed. "I'll go talk to Nana about you three using the aircraft."

"Just the three of them? I'll come too, Chief." Massimo said.  
"Yeah, count me in. I want to know why this is happening, too." Marino followed.  
"I'm coming too," Cinnamon declared, "How could he call X a traitor after everything he did for Giga City?"

Chief R smiled in response.

"Very well, then. We're departing tomorrow. You should prepare yourselves. This is going to be a big operation."


	68. Ecdysis

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 68: Ecdysis**

It was impossible for anyone in Giga City to not know about Redips' assault on Central Tower. For starters, Jasmine, Cumin, and Saffron were still on the lower floors when it started. Other onlookers saw the vessel firing at the heliport, especially the ones who gathered around Central Tower just to see the hunters' departure.

Soon enough, all the merchants in Giga City volunteered to supply X's party for their fight against Redips. Meanwhile, X was able to use the standard automatic signals to contact HQ and report Redips's betrayal. Of course, it was impossible to deny, because it was witnessed by many people in Giga City.

"What was he thinking?" was what Alia said when X finally got to her. "Attacking you guys in broad daylight in front of many people? That's just weird."  
"No idea. Judging from his announcement, he probably wanted to rally some people to his side."  
"Well, whatever happens, be careful, okay?"  
"Of course."

The moment the attack stopped, Jasmine, Cumin, and Saffron rushed upstairs to see Axl. It just so happened that they arrived when he was still in the maintenance bed, lying on his back, his eyes staring vacantly at the ceiling. The sound of the medbay door opening didn't faze him at all. He didn't move an inch. He just stared blankly with empty eyes. When Jasmine called out to him from the doorway, he didn't respond at all.

"He's probably asleep." Saffron remarked.  
"Yeah, he was real tired, and the attack probably made it all worse." Cumin added.  
"You're right, but I…I just want to make sure that he's okay…" Jasmine said, before slowly walking towards the maintenance bed.

"Axl…are you okay?"  
"I…I don't know what to believe anymore." Axl weakly replied as he shut his eyes.

Jasmine bit her lips as tears formed in her eyes. Back when they first met, even though he's quite emotional, he was still capable of genuinely smiling. But now he feels like a shell of his former self.

"I'm sorry you had to go through this." Was the only thing she could say.  
"I'm sorry too." Axl replied, weakly, again.

After standing there in silence for a few seconds, Jasmine slowly turned back, and walked to the doorway where her sisters are waiting. Many thoughts filled her mind. But most of all, she hopes that the good old days will return; the two of them working in her shop, with Cumin and Saffron around. And when it comes, Axl's smile will return too. Hopefully…

After X was finished reporting to HQ, he approached Zero, who was leaning against the wall near the entrance to the control room—where Spider used to hang around in. His armour was still scratched and dented.

"Hey…thanks, Zee." X said.  
"No problem. You and Axl were…well, you guys needed to rest first."  
"How is he?"  
"Eighty percent something."  
"I see…"  
"What did HQ say?"  
"Alia said that Redips was being stupid for attacking so brazenly," X recounted, "And then because the rest of HQ decided that Redips couldn't be trusted, they asked me to report the entire. Operation." He continued, heaving a huge sigh at the end.  
"Haha! That's why you took so long!" Zero responded, grinning. "I thought Alia chewed you out or something."  
"Oh, laugh ahead, Zero. Laugh ahead," X replied, smiling evilly, "After you're done in the maintenance bed, they're asking YOU next!"  
"Noooo! Oh well. Can't help it. You…you're joking, right?"  
"Nope. We were separated, so HQ was interested in how you could survive in Giga City alone before we met up in Ulfat."  
"Oh. Oh well." Zero replied nonchalantly.

"Hey, Zee."  
"What is it?"  
"How are you feeling?" X asked. "This…this is just bullshit."  
"About Redips?"  
"What else?"

Zero was silent for a few moments.

"I feel like we've always blindly followed orders." X confessed.  
"Figures. You always wanted to know the why of things," Zero replied, "I always found it unnecessary for someone like me, who just wanted the job done. But I'm not sure if I want to stay that kind of person anymore."  
"Zero…"  
"I'm just…I feel like a fool, you know? I feel like we're being used by Redips. We're just pawns. You. Me. Axl. Everyone. Pawns. Can you imagine that?"  
"That's…horrible." Was all X could muster.

"Maybe if we had followed your insistence to investigate more; you know, ask questions first, shoot later…we wouldn't have ended up like this. Redips started the experiment and intended to end it with all the survivors neutralized. If I was Epsilon, I would've been pissed as all hell too."  
"But Zero, you still had a point. They had already done unforgiveable things towards Giga City."  
"But let's take it further. Two wrongs don't make a right. What Redips had done was still fishy."  
"We found out about it too late. It was too late to turn back and change our target." X argued.  
"Well, can't deny that. If we had suddenly questioned Redips, it would've made everything more difficult. But I can't accept that this is the best ending."  
"It's not over yet, Zero." X assured, reaching out his hand to pat Zero's fortunately uninjured shoulder.  
"You're right, but…I kind of understand how you feel about wanting to save everyone. Now I'm just kicking myself over not being able to save Epsilon. We probably could've convinced him to stop fighting right then and there and start a new life and everything."  
"I guess Axl was right when he said that Epsilon had chosen death…but I wish no one has to make that decision. It's painful."

Zero didn't respond. He just bit his lip as he remembered Spider's last moments, holding Incentas against the sealed door and destroying himself with the enemy to secure an escape for the rest…

"Everyone always said I had unlimited potential. I want to use it to create a world where no one has to choose death."

Zero's response to X's declaration was a wide smile.

"I'd like to live in that world. Make it real for me, will ya?"  
"Sure will."

* * *

 ** _AUTHOR'S NOTES:_** _waw another chapter. Well, I wrote this now mostly because I forgot to write the previous chapter's author's notes because i was tired when i wrote it. i was like "well i planned to write until redips's bombing so i'mma do it," completely putting aside the fact that I was tired. As a result, I forgot to write the notes I wanted. I need a vehicle to deliver it. I had previously planned to write it sometime else, but I just gotta say this now._ **  
**

 _Thanks so much for sticking with me. Every review, every view counts. I know I've promised myself to complete this story no matter what, but knowing that I'm not in this alone makes me feel so much happier. So please don't be shy if you can help it, and always be polite. A little shout out to BMG, who showed me that I'm not alone after all.  
_

 _also, this chapter was bigger than planned. Originally, the exposition on the state of Central Tower after the attack was supposed to be a transition to the confrontation against Redips, but it just...swelled. So I decided to pad it with a meaningful conversation between X and Zero, as well as a look at Axl's current state. And uh, the chapter title is the term used for the act of a snake shedding its skin. I just used it instead of "Shedding Skin" because i thought it was cool.  
_


	69. Breakthrough

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 69: Breakthrough**

Simply put, Far East HQ was one hell of a party.

Five high-level New-Gens, hordes of Redips' elite troops, and even one loyal old model reploid was much more than what the band of six expected. They expected a bit more resistance against Redips' mad conspiracy. It's like the whole of Far East HQ was in on it. Instead, their only allies were the head nurse and the HQ's inventory manager. Well, not that it wasn't enough. But it was still quite the nasty surprise.

"Redips!"

X yelled, staring flaming daggers at the former colonel. Redips simply turned around as if his subordinate was trying to ask him something. The moment his eyes met X's, he just smiled.

"How long have you been doing this?" X asked.

Redips's only response was one small chuckle.

"Answer me, damn it!" X demanded.  
"Why…why did you have to drag innocent volunteers into this?" Axl asked all of a sudden. His voice wasn't as high as X's, but the anger is still audible.

"We all need to make sacrifices for the greater good." Redips finally spoke.  
"That's it? That's IT? You mavericks always speak about sacrifices and new worlds! As if you know anything about creating a better world!" X responded.  
"And what about you hunters? Do you have a better solution besides gunning down any and all opposition? If you do, please tell me. I'm all ears." Redips nonchalantly replied.  
"Peace…cooperation…don't all of those ever cross your mind?"  
Redips laughed mirthlessly. "They did. So many times. A long time ago. But the problem is, there's this one variable that you hunters never considered. But that's to be expected."  
"Then what is it? Say it! I'm listening…"  
"Humans."

X tensed and raised his eyebrows. "Humans? What do they have to do with this?"  
Redips clicked his tongue. "Damn it, X, are you stupid, or what? Who the hell have you been fighting for all these decades? Do you realize who's been pulling the strings behind your entire lives? Expecting you to do what they want at their beck and call for as long as you live? Have you ever fucking thought about THAT?"  
"But…they…they're just…normal people! They just live normal lives; civilians, they never hurt anyone—"  
"YOU KNOW NOTHING!" Redips barked, stunning the group of six into silence. They were frozen for a few seconds, but Axl and Marino recovered sooner than the others. Redips's words were familiar to them. After nearly one minute of silence, Redips regained his composure.

"You should remember this."  
Right after he finished speaking, his frame glows a bright white before turning smaller, about Axl's size. The moment the white light faded away, X, Zero, and Axl's hearts skipped a beat.

"You do, don't you?"  
The legendary trio froze at the sound of Lumine's voice and the sight of his form. Aside from Axl, how could a newly-created New-Gen get ahold of his DNA? Any and all DNA data belonging to mavericks were formatted and utterly purged following the great New-Gen purge almost 6 years ago—

"Who the fuck are you?" Axl lowly asked, growling, "How the hell did you get that data? Tell me!"  
"Lumine" chuckled. "I was a worker of Jakob."  
"It's impossible! Every New-Gen that was involved in Jakob are all dead!" Axl screamed.  
"Didn't I say that you know nothing? You hunters are always like this. You never take the time to listen. Has anyone told you before? But well, even if they had, you probably didn't listen to them."

"So? We're listening now. Stop wallowing in self-pity, and talk already." Zero spat.  
Redips, still in Lumine's form, smirked. "Sure. But still, I don't like wasting my breath. So why don't I show you something amazing?"

As soon as he finished his sentence, Redips's whole form turned invisible in just a few seconds.

"That's…Stealth Mode! How…how did you…" Axl questioned.  
"I was Master Lumine's second-in-command," Redips spoke, while still invisible, "We planned to free ourselves from the humans' iron fist for the longest time, but you know how it went. He told me to run the moment you hunters foiled our operations on Earth. I never forgave myself for leaving him alone on the moon that day."  
"So…you escaped the New-Gen purge too? So I wasn't the only one?"  
Even though he was invisible, Redips nodded anyways. "That's correct. As to how it happened, well, identity theft is a thing, isn't it? Besides, Master Lumine is the only famous one. Worker drones like us are not important."  
"I can relate." Axl responded calmly.

Everyone else in the room turned to him—his teammates, as well as Redips, who turned visible again, in his original form—his concentration had broken.

Redips laughed, this time with a bit of mirth…and bitterness. "You? An S-class? You've got to be kidding me—"  
"Lumine's only means of communication was a phone stuck on his desk. You were all made to work without contact from the outside world, and were only given just enough rest to replenish your energy so that you can keep working, among other things.  
All because the humans realized that the impacts of their development had damaged the Earth, and decided to colonize the moon. That's why they needed the Jakob elevator. Meanwhile, the reploids are to terraform the Earth, basically cleaning their mess for them. Did I miss anything?"  
Redips flinched. "How did you know so much—"  
"I visited the Jakob site after it was abandoned and rummaged through everything."  
Redips narrowed his eyes. "Why would you do such a thing?"  
"That is NOT your fucking business, you piece of shit. Now, you haven't given me a good enough answer. Why in the world would you gather volunteers for your sick Force Metal experiment, only for them to be killed after going through so much shit? Tell me!"  
"Hah! You hunters sure are bad at listening. Didn't I tell you? We-need-to make-sacrifices! Do you understand?" Redips replied, his voice getting progressively higher.  
"That's all they are to you? You have no idea—"

Axl stopped speaking abruptly when X outstretched his arm in front of him. "Leave it, Axl. There's no point in trying to understand a maverick's logic. Not when we know so little about them."

Redips raised his eyebrows in response. What X said was predictable and unpredictable at the same time.

"So…you were mistreated back then during the project?" X asked.  
Redips slowly, but solemnly nodded. "What Axl said…was all true."  
"So you suffered in silence all this time," X said, "But…why violence?"  
"It was the only way. They would shut us out if we ever tried speaking. I could never count how many times we hear the humans say that reploids are just machines and not people, and how amazing and advanced the humans are for having created reploids."  
"There has to be another way, right?" X questioned.  
"Is that so? Then you tell me."  
"What about…a world just for reploids?" X suggested—speaking as if he was just thinking to himself instead of talking to someone else.

Redips just chuckled. "That's what I'm trying to achieve, and here you are trying to foil my plans!"  
"Your way is wrong! With all this violence and death…it's not right at all!" X argued.  
"Please. Just tell me that you were just upset that I had to backstab you instead of claiming the moral high ground. That would've been more acceptable."  
"So what if we are?" Axl said. "And why did you backstab us anyway, after the unholy amount of work we did for your 'grand scheme' to liberate all reploids?"  
"You know far too much…Axl."

* * *

 ** _AUTHOR'S NOTES:_** _Wow. Just wow. I can't believe that this fic went through an unannounced two-month hiatus. It just...went by, and all of a sudden HOLYSHITTHISFICWENTALMOSTTWOMONTHSWITHOUTANUPDATEWTF I'm sooooooooooo sorry! I uh, took a break to watch anime and return to drawing. Although I need to announce that WAW HOLY FAK THIS FIC IS 2 YEARS OLD ALREADY AS OF 15 NOV 2017! 8D I'm so proud of myself for being able to walk this far, for so long. I feel kind of bad for missing the day of the anniversary, though. But hey, I remembered. That has to count for something.  
_


	70. World Wide Web

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 70: World Wide Web**

"W-what? Me?" Axl stuttered.  
"Exactly. Your team is doomed because of you. You know too much. And I know your type. You won't join us, so the alternative is to silence you. And you know, birds of a feather flock together, and then they start singing…you get what I'm trying to say, right?" Redips explained.  
"Those orders…" X remarked.  
Redips nodded. "You WERE going to confront me about it sooner or later. If I hadn't acted…"  
"Why did you make the Professor do such a thing? Do you know how much pain he is in, because of you?" Cinnamon questioned.  
"Why did you even ask that? Do you know that all the money I sent him all this years was what got him so rich? Do you even know that I paid him good money to create you, the Force Metal Generator?" Redips shot back.  
Cinnamon gasped, frozen in her tracks.  
"If I didn't commission him, you wouldn't have existed, little girl." Redips continued.  
"All this mad scheming and plotting and Force Metal…why?" Zero asked.

Redips let out a sound somewhere between a sigh and a groan. "I told you…that it's for a new world where reploids can just live. Free of human interference and oppression. Didn't you listen to me?"  
"And you were saying…that all the casualties…everyone else who died, were just necessary sacrifices?" Zero said.  
Redips nodded. "At least you make a good parrot."  
Zero growled, gripping his saber tightly. "This is bullshit! We lost Spider…for this? You can't be serious!"  
"The joke…" Redips said as his body glows white and grew smaller again. The white light from his transformation then faded to reveal the form of Spider. "Is on you, man."

"S-Spider…wha—what is…what's going on?" Marino blurted out.  
"What a shame. And I thought you're my old friend. Couldn't even tell between the real one and a fake?" Redips, in Spider's form and voice, chastised.  
"What…what did you do to Spider? Damn you…"  
"Ah, remember that story about my venture to the copy chip laboratory? It was only half true."  
"You…you were the one that ambushed him—"  
"And got to listen to his last words, too," Redips said as he transformed back, "He said your name. Said he was a fool. Told you to take care of Aile. Judging from your ignorance, I take it his words never reached you. I had to crush his head when he started talking. I was concerned that he might have been connected to you and you'd bring backup—"  
Marino screamed out a battle cry as she threw her Comet weapons at Redips. "You asshole! How dare you…Spider…!"  
Redips briefly turned invisible, and the Comets bounced harmlessly off him. The moment they clattered on the ground, he returned to being visible.

"You really were a thorn on my side, Axl," Redips stated, "Little did I know that you were the reason why Shadow couldn't find any intel on the Rebellion. But why?"  
"It's not your business!" Axl barked.  
"Are you so drunk on heroism that you retired to stick your nose everywhere it doesn't belong, just to do some so-called 'good?'" Redips questioned.  
"Heh! As if. This world's a pile of shit."  
"So why don't you just change it with me?"  
"You're also a pile of shit." Axl's reply came almost instantly.  
Redips couldn't help but laugh. "Then that settles it. I have no more use for you."

The group of six entered into their fighting stances, but they froze in shock for a few seconds when Redips decided to flee instead.

"What the—" Massimo blurted out.  
"After him!" Zero ordered as he ran towards Redips, who had just reached a teleporter. When the group was halfway to reaching it, Redips's form had disappeared as the teleporter transported him to another location. Gritting their teeth, the group steeled themselves as they use the somehow still-active teleporter, one…by one…by one.

The teleporter took them to the moon. It has since been untouched since the Jakob incident—even the ruins of the purple palace from that time were still there, although it's gotten worn down with time.

The first thing they saw upon re-materialization was Redips, inside a device that looks just like the infusion devices found in Lagrano, except it was much, much bigger…and connected to two pieces of Supra-Force Metal. One of them was stolen from the warhead in Melda, the other the piece taken from Epsilon's remains.

Axl's eyes widened as his grip on his Axl Bullets tightened. "So…this…is why you commissioned the experiments..."  
Redips grinned from inside the pod. "Of course. Why would I experiment on myself? Why would I want to take such a risk? I had to make sure that this was possible. After all, I wasn't built with this power. I was just a puny New-Gen!"

"Redips!" Massimo cried out as he dashed forwards, weapon in hand. "You're insane!"  
He then tried to cleave at the machine, but he couldn't even scratch it.  
"I'll never…ever…forgive you!" Marino screamed as she tossed her Comet weapons at the machine. Again, her attacks were futile. She tried stabbing and slashing at it using her beam daggers, but the results were the same.  
"You…power drunk…maverick!" Zero yelled as he transformed into his Absolute Zero form. He flew towards the machine and kept attacking it, but only managed to scratch it.

"Epsilon…died…for this…" Axl muttered. "Everyone…everyone died…for this? Just so you can stuff yourself full of power, and…"  
"And liberate reploids! Like you! And me! All of us!" Redips declared.  
"Shut your fucking mouth!" Axl barked. "You all talk about grand causes, but all you do is spill blood! You don't understand anything at all!"  
"Small-minded scum like you have no place in the new world," Redips remarked as the machine began to transform, "So I'll let you have the honour of being the test subjects for this new power."

The group watched as he merged himself with the machine and Supra-Force Metal pieces. Axl, Marino, and X did all they could to shoot him and stop the transformation, with Cinnamon providing them with the energy boost. Unfortunately, Redips's new form was finished without so much as a scratch on it.

"I kept searching," Redips said as he idly moved his new big white clawed hands—all four of them, "Searching…searching…and searching…for the key to ending this torment. Indeed, peace and cooperation did cross my mind, but with the humans around, inequality was the only scenario. They treat us like it's their god-given right to treat us as servants."

Zero, still in Absolute Zero form, lunged at the now monstrous Redips while yelling out a battle cry. One swat from Redips's big hand was all it takes to thwart him, however. Zero fell to the ground and reverted back to his normal form.

"Then I studied, you know? What is this concept they call 'god?' Why do humans—well, most of them at least—value "god" so much? They said that God is the kind and nurturing creator of all. God is merciful and loving, but He is fair and just, thus He will punish evildoers accordingly, without fail. God is all-powerful and all-knowing, after all. And that, they say, is what Hell is for…"

Massimo then turned his green armour golden. He moved towards Redips, and tries to attack him. Unfortunately, Redips dodged every single attack. Soon after Massimo's failed barrage, Redips unleashed a spreadshot attack. It didn't take long for Massimo to decide to revert back, and for the party to scatter to dodge.

"But then I studied more. I learned that so many people performed heinous acts in the name of this loving, merciful, kind God. They oppressed. They killed. All in the name of this "God" and His sovereignty. And that was when I realized that the only thing they truly value in this "God" is really just power."

X transformed into his Ultimate Armour, spurring everyone else to unleash their Hyper Modes and attack Redips all at once. Redips tried to dodge their attacks, and mostly succeeded. The strikes that impacted him merely leave scratches that were quickly remedied by the immense energy of the Supra-Force Metal, which facilitated heightened regeneration.

"When I came to that realization, everything made sense. The moment the humans created reploids, they had decided that they are our so-called "gods." They decided that they were entitled to our eternal and unquestioning servitude. They decided that they deserve to enjoy what THEIR "God" enjoyed, without giving us a say in the matter, because apparently, they don't have a say in the matter, either.  
They say that Heaven is a place to worship God and sing his praises forever, and ever, and ever, and ever…so because they have become "God," they decided to make this world a heaven for them. They live in decadence, while they make us live and die for them, at their beck and call, every day."

Redips stared grimly, unamusedly, yet triumphantly at X's party; they had reverted to their normal forms, having exhausted themselves from the Hyper Mode use. Even so, they weren't just sitting there staring at him. Cinnamon did her best to re-energize the rest of the party, especially Zero, Marino, and Massimo. The two shooters, X and Axl, continued to shoot at Redips. Redips just took the shots as what little damage he took from the attacks was nullified by the Supra-Force Metal's power. He then started to charge his power for an attack…

"The current world order is only possible because of the power the humans have over us. They prevent us from reaching our true potential, because they know that the moment we DO reach it, we find out that we're actually more powerful than them. They're afraid that we'll rise against them and give them a taste of their own medicine. And that's why that I need power to free reploids from this prison. But unfortunately, some of them, like you, are beyond saving. But at least I can free you with death—"

"Shut…your…fucking…trap! Nnnnngggggh!"

Redips quickly turned his head sideways, where the voice came from, to see a pink winged reploid tugging at one of the Supra-Force Metal piece, which was attached to his shoulder.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** waw. The final fight was majorly retconned from the in-game fight in XCM, but eh, I'm used to retconning. Just look at PMGR. Heh. But anyways...have you ever spilled your whole life story to someone just because you were lonely and wanted someone to hear your story? Anyways...let me know if you find Redips's rant relatable.  
FINALLY GOOD LORD. I've clammed up and kept silent about Redips's reason for commissioning the Force Metal experiments for so, so long. I FINALLY could let it out. It feels so satisfying. _


	71. Wheel of Fortune

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 71: Wheel of Fortune**

As Redips laid on the ground, forcibly extracted out of his ruined Force Metal merger machine, he stared at X's party, who were looming above him. And then he laughed.

The whole ordeal was painful for him. His body hurt all over. After Ferham took the Supra-Force Metal—no, after he blasted her and broke the connector, it was all over. Both Ferham and the metal survived the shot, falling to the ground. She had rushed over to X's party and used the energy from the Supra-Force Metal to re-energize them all. It worked.

After the loss of one of his two Supra-Force Metals, "God Mode Redips" stopped living up to its name.

"Are you happy now, X?" he weakly said.  
X bit his lip and looked away in response.  
"What's wrong? You defeated the villain for the umpteenth time. You're a hero, just like always. You saved the world from my mad scheme. Why aren't you satisfied?"  
"Redips, what…what made you maverick?" X asked.  
Redips groaned. "Are you stupid? Axl had already spelled it out for you. This world…is a pile of shit. I want to change it…by any means necessary."  
X was still silent.  
"This world isn't all shitty." Zero remarked.  
"Because you're on top," Redips retorted, "So you get the privilege to be on the good part of the world."  
"You were already on top, too, Mr. Former Colonel." Zero replied.  
Redips clicked his tongue. "I wish you were there to see your subordinates…coming home from a mission, wounded…and hearing the humans put them down. The look of pain in their face…you can't just forget it. I don't want to forget…just because I'm in a position where I can enjoy myself. I will never forget my roots.  
Humans can fight back against humans. But we can't, just because we're robots. Because we're machines. We're tools. They can hit us all they want and we can't fight back. Tell me, X, how fucked up is that? Huh?"  
"They can put us down all they like. We will continue to do the right thing regardless." X replied. "I know how you feel, but you've crossed the line."  
Redips coughed, and then chuckled bitterly. "Stay in our place, be friendly to all, decade after decade...indefinitely. Is this all reploids will ever be? Someday...you'll see—"

BANG!

A gunshot rang out and a few members of the party jumped. Axl stared blankly at Redips's head, which now has a little hole between the eyes, from which smoke rises up. He then lowers his gun before de-manifesting it. As Redips's DNA data flows into his body, he kneels down in front of the corpse, takes off one of Redips's badges and uses it to cut a hole into the synthetic skin. In seconds, he has fully processed the information and pinpoints the exact location of his memory chip. The rest of the party stared as Axl casually extracts Redips's memory chip out of his head.

"Here." Axl said as he gave it to X. "Evidence. We couldn't get Shadow's, but this should do as some sort of consolation prize."  
X nodded slowly as he accepted it, his eyes wide. As far as he's concerned, Axl would be the last person to be doing…something like that.

"Axl…what happened? What happened to you?" X asked.  
Axl said nothing, but smiled. It was genuine. It was also wide, just like how it was in the old times. But his eyes look at X sadly.  
"Let's go." Axl said as he walked towards the teleporter, and Ferham, who was sitting fairly close to it, holding the Supra-Force Metal in her arms.

"What are you going to do now?" Zero asked her.  
Ferham sat in silence for a few seconds.  
"We'll definitely tell them that we wouldn't have defeated Redips without you." X said, stepping closer to her.  
"What of my past crimes?" Ferham muttered.  
"We'll do something, I'm sure of it!" X responded.  
"I won't…I won't commit any crimes anymore." Ferham replied.  
"I know you can do it." X said with a small smile. Zero simply nodded.  
"I'll just take this thing somewhere, so that no one can abuse it ever again." Ferham stated as she looked at the Supra-Force Metal.  
"The government might not like that. Besides, it would still be a waste of an asset." Zero remarked.  
"Or you can just give it to me. The rich hoards all the good stuff, while the poor starve every night. That thing should fetch a good price, enough money to maintain lots of homeless reploids." Marino added.  
"I think…the Professor should handle it. He's the expert on Force Metal. I'm sure he'll know what to do with it." Cinnamon suggested.  
"Now, now, why don't we just divide it into ordinary Force Metal pieces? Having this thing around would be way too dangerous." Massimo said.  
Ferham tensed and her eyes widened. She then started to sit up.  
"It's not ours for the taking, though. Massimo is right. Supra-Force Metal is dangerous. So we'll let the regulators think about what to do with it. Our job is done here." X stated, before turning to Ferham. "Hey, Ferham, can you—"

X and his party turned to Ferham to find her gone, and then noticed her flying off the surface of the moon clutching the hunk of Supra-Force Metal.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Axl yelled.  
"No one should have this much power," Ferham said, "But I need it. After all, I want to join Epsilon and Scarface in the afterlife."

Axl froze in his tracks, and stared at the flying Ferham. She flew a few distances away from the moon and the Earth before finally destroying herself and the metal. He stared at the explosion, and tears flowed down his face. And then he laughed.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:**_ _Phew! I'm terribly sorry for being unable to update last month. I guess I took an unofficial break on Feb, mostly because I had my leave period and just wanted to relax. Anyways, the Command Mission arc is almost over, but this is only the beginning, I think. Or so I hope. I added a lot to these scenes, and I do like the additions, because, to me, it's excellent social commentary. I hope you feel the same way._

 _As an aside, life's getting better for me, and I've been getting into new things. But I still won't forget this fic. The moment I started it, I know I'm going to finish it. And I will. It's been 2 years, after all._


	72. The Fool

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 72: The Fool**

"Once again, maverick hunters X and Zero, along with the ex-S-class Axl successfully quelled a reploid uprising on Giga City. The federation determined the mastermind behind the rebellion was the maverick Redips.  
Determination of the maverick status of the Commander of the Rebellion Army, Epsilon, was deferred."

All of it led to this day.

How long has it been since I was last on the heliport of Central Tower? My armour is white, but it's not because I'm using Epsilon's "Lumine" DNA. In fact, he has been restored, standing beside me in black armour. It's not from the scraps of his old bulky black armour though. It's just temporary, like mine. We rented it and will need to give it back anyways. We got ourselves matching armour. I can't wait to try that out.

"Ahem!"

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't notice Commander Signas clearing his throat in front of me—us.

"Should we start now?"

I nodded with a grin—a huge genuine grin, one I haven't had for a while now. Epsilon giggled beside me. My chest felt tight. It's been so very long. He's my own size now—a lot of the Force Metal has been removed from him. He—no, we get to live again this time.

"Do you, Axl, accept Epsilon as your husband, in times of errors and good maintenance, in good times and bad, till death do you part?"  
Epsilon giggled awkwardly. I then lightly kicked his shin before replying. "I do."  
"Do you, Epsilon, accept Axl as your husband, in times of errors and good maintenance, in good times and bad, till death do you part?"  
Epsilon flashed Signas a big grin before responding. "I do."  
"Then I pronounce you...husband and husband."

Let's just skip the kissing part. This fic is rated T, not M.

X and Zero were the best men. Unexpectedly, Zero was the one crying. X just smiled at him. They're probably thinking of having their own wedding someday. Cinnamon was the flower girl. She looked so happy doing it. Marino was there, but she dolled herself up with makeup and dressed up; I mean she dressed. Up. No one would guess that she's the legendary thief. She looks more like somebody's rich aunt instead.

Professor Gaudile was there too. He was reluctant to come at first. He couldn't bear facing Epsilon again after all the shit that's happened, but then Epsilon extended a hand towards him with a grin, and that was that.

"You were just following orders. I know how it feels. I'm the stupid one. If only we talked it out, everything could've been resolved."

I could still remember Prof. Gaudile bursting into tears when Epsilon said that to him.

The former Rebellion—erm, Liberion Army were restored, somehow. Memory chips are small, while they were so bulked up. A strike or two must have miraculously missed the chips. Everyone was there, except for Botos and Silver Horn. Botos had apparently ran away to change his name and forget they ever did what they did to Giga City. Silver Horn on the other hand, didn't come because he couldn't bear facing Massimo after what he did to the original Steel Massimo and his other disciples.

Ferham and Scarface were so happy for Epsilon, being his two closest friends. Dr. Psyche was...awkward, given that Prof. Gaudile was there too. But they did manage some small talk. Cinnamon being surprisingly friendly to Dr. Psyche definitely helped. Mach Jentra was the master of ceremony. He's surprisingly good at that kind of thing, but then again he has that posh aura about him. Incentas helped as DJ, what with him having so many hands. He'll probably start a new career as a one-man orchestra after this. Jango acted as security, mostly because he had experience back then before X and Zero came to Giga City. Chief R just laughed about it and allowed him.

Nana had so much fun. She mingled with the navigator girls of HQ and they took lots of selfies...some of which Epsilon photobombed. I never knew he's into that sort of thing. Well, that's good. That means I can get to know him better now that we have our own bodies.

"To the people of this world, human or reploid!" Mach Jentra declared, "And to a peaceful world for everyone! Today, we celebrate the removal of Epsilon's maverick charges!"

All of us cheered. I was the loudest.

"Epsilon's...maverick...charges..."

"Maverick...charges..."

"Maverick...maverick...maverick..."

It was cold, but soft. It didn't make sense, though. It was sunny at Central Tower...oh.

"Today, the federation has made its statement related to Epsilon's maverick charges."

I sat up immediately upon hearing the sound from the TV. Supporting myself on one hand, I felt the soft, yet firm mattress of the single bed in my room in HQ. My eyes still wanted to close again, but it's not the time.

This is it. This is what all my efforts of compiling data and going back and forth to law court amounts to. I must not miss this. I gave them all the documents I looted from Lagrano, I made up cover stories to prevent them from knowing the true reason why I was so invested in this. I worked so hard...

"Despite Redips being guilty of the reploid insurrection, this does not mean that Epsilon and his Rebellion Army are entirely innocent. They have severely disrupted the livelihood of Giga City by unlawfully evicting its citizens. Their acts of terrorism has also claimed many lives, some of them including the Force Metal scientist Miyu Tezuka, and the brave members of Steel Massimo's dojo who tried to stop them. The federation has now designated Epsilon and the Rebellion Army mavericks."

All of it...led to this day...

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** AHAHAHAHAHAHA! HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT? HAPPY APRIL FOOLS EVERYONE! ahahaha...well, I've had this idea of trolling the readers since, like, 2015 or early 2016 or something. For Delta to dream of marrying Epsilon in Central Tower, only to...wake up. When I realized what day today is, I figured that this is the best day to upload it, combined with the fact that this is a good way to progress forward, skip to the twist of the end of XCM. _

_They say that Epsilon's maverick sentence is deferred; but what is deferred? According to Google, it's_

 _put off (an action or event) to a later time; postpone.  
"they deferred the decision until February"  
synonyms:_ _postpone, put off, delay, hold over, hold off (on), put back;_

 _therefore ultimately, a decision must be made. And what kind of decision would be made? Would he be forgiven after essentially ransacking Giga City? No matter what reasons he might have had, it doesn't justify the things he did or the lives he and his group have taken or ruined. Even if Redips masterminded or indirectly caused this whole thing, Epsilon's decision to try and take over Giga City violently was still his own, and no one could deny that, nor the impact it had caused. Epsilon is still a maverick, end of story. If you were one of the poor humans who were forcefully evicted from your home by terrorist reploids, you'd cheer for that decision too._


	73. Six of Swords

**The Voice in Your Heart  
Page 73: Six of Swords**

It's been six months since the Giga City mission.  
We were all brought in for questioning. The Liberion's old bases were searched and investigated.

Nana was given entitlement for therapy and a vacation after what she went through while imprisoned by Silver Horn and having to operate for the team almost immediately after being rescued. Chief R was also given a long vacation for effectively heading the whole "take-back-Giga-City" mission.

Tianna Base was searched, and the body of the real Massimo was found. The Steel Massimo we know confessed to the truth, but the rest of the team defended him. We said that if he had told the truth, people would lose morale; besides, he was strong, and a big help to us. Giga City accepted him as the new Steel Massimo.

Marino tried to form an agreement with the government based on her purpose for stealing. She was always resentful of how innovations were always given to the rich and important first and foremost, leaving the rest of the people to suffer. It didn't turn out too well. All they could offer her was bureaucratic positions, all of which she does not want. She soon disappeared to resume her usual activities.

Prof. Gaudile was put on trial. While he did try to issue the order to have the whole Liberion-Army-to-be executed, he was under orders from his commissioner, and Epsilon, who eavesdropped at the most inopportune time, was the one who threw the first punch. Despite accusations from various parties; including but not limited to Prof. Miyu Tezuka's family, Prof. Gaudile did not abandon Prof. Tezuka to die. Instead, it was her who chose to sacrifice herself. Furthermore, Prof. Gaudile aided the mission immensely, and he was declared innocent and a hero.  
However, the world is a jungle. Because of this scandal and the resulting unrest and debate over the morality of his actions, he was shunned by the scientific community and no one dared commission him. He now lives off selling the Force Metal Cinnamon refined for him.

The Giga City incident was a scandal for the Hunters too. Given that a trusted colonel who had delivered good results for years turned out to be scheming for his own ends, a rigorous audit was conducted on all hunter personnel. A lot was laid off, and consequently, the Maverick Hunters grew short of manpower.

As I fought for the removal of Epsilon's maverick charges, I was suspected of being a Liberion sympathizer, or at worst, in cahoots with them or Redips. However, X, Zero, and Jasmine all defended me. X and Zero testified that I was the one who did most of the fighting against Epsilon and even landed the killing blow, while Jasmine used my half-truth for when I went to Lagrano: "because I felt something was going to happen and it's the instinct of a maverick hunter."  
I was declared a hero and was given a medal—the first medal given to me ever—and a written request to return to the Hunters. Jasmine let me go.

"Congratulations, Axl, I'm so happy for you. I know we'll probably never see each other again, but please know that I was really happy during the short time we spent together. Don't forget me, okay?"

Thanks for everything, Jasmine. But I don't think I deserve a congratulations.

"What's wrong, Axl?" X asked me as I opened the door to my room, "Are you sure you don't wanna hang out?"  
I nodded. "I'm sure. I just want to go to sleep..."  
"Yeah, the missions have been getting tougher after The Great Layoff. Shame lots of our former colleagues turned to crime..." Zero remarked, sighing afterwards. "Let him sleep, X. There's always next time."

I smiled at Zero and X, and nodded approvingly before entering the room, shutting the door behind me. I then removed my armour and placed my guns on the bedside table before snuggling up under the blanket.

Back to square one.  
Another crisis stopped. Once more, I'm a hero. I saved people. And as always, I end up alone in my room. But this time, I think I'm underground.

Everyone whom I ever loved all died horribly. Red and co. And now Epsilon. Both cases were nasty. I had to kill them. But this is the life of a reploid, right? Either the people you love get infected, start or join an uprising because of the interspecies racism, or you love a human and outlive them.  
But it's not like it's any better for humans. Either your loved ones die, leave you in bad terms, or have to be let go.

Everything in life is governed by luck and chance. People keep saying that hard work and perseverance will get you there, but this is where I am after so much hard work and perseverance. I don't need that medal. I don't need the S class designation. I don't need people admiring the "hero." I just want someone to share my life with, is it so hard?

Maybe I didn't fight enough when it mattered most. If I had stopped Epsilon back then, we could've been happier. If I had come with him to accompany him during his experiments, perhaps I could've understood him better. Maybe I could convince him to just run away with me then. But even so, it's useless, wasn't it? In the end, he left me for his quest and his new friends. Scarface and Ferham were willing to die for him. I could never do such a thing for anyone.

That's right. No matter how hard I work or how much I do, there's no denying that I'm a needy kid with a nasty temper. I'm stupid, too...I left X and Zero for Epsilon. I refused to forgive Bris even after she turned a 180. It's no wonder I'm all alone right now.

The bed is warm and soft. I could lay down there forever. My guns are always there with me, and they never let me down. Sometimes, even one is enough. Gripping it felt right, like my hand was always meant to be there. The cold barrel against my forehead is refreshing. Placing my finger on the trigger feels comforting. I closed my eyes. Just a little more pressure, and I can rest well tonight.


End file.
